Loud snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea, but it doesn’t happen in everyone with the condition. Other symptoms include choking or gasping, frequent awakenings during the night and daytime sleepiness. Other signs of sleep apnea are waking up repeatedly in the night or feeling tired even after a goodnight’s rest. You may also wake up with a sore or dry throat or have a choking sensation. People with sleep apnea are also at greater risk for having heart disease, stroke or other life-threatening conditions like arrhythmias.
GPs can refer people to specialist clinics for tests that check things like breathing and heart rate while you sleep. These can sometimes be done at home with devices you wear while sleeping.
1. Snoring
Anyone who suffers from loud snoring or pauses in breathing while sleeping should talk to their health care provider. These are symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, which happens when your airways become narrow or blocked.
Other symptoms include gasping or choking during sleep, waking up frequently during the night, feeling exhausted even after a good night’s rest and mood changes or headaches. People with severe obstructive sleep apnea may develop high blood pressure or heart disease.
If your doctor suspects you have obstructive sleep apnea, they may refer you to a sleep clinic for tests. The test measures your heart rate and blood pressure while you are asleep. It also records a video of your sleep to look for episodes of snoring or pauses and can help determine how serious the condition is.
2. Frequent awakenings
If you’re waking up at night or having trouble falling back asleep, it could be a sign of sleep apnea. The condition causes pauses in breathing for longer than 10 seconds, or less than that if the breathing is reduced, called hypopneas. These pauses happen 5 to 30 times an hour, or more on average, during sleep.
The lack of oxygen triggers a survival reflex that briefly wakes you so you can breathe again. The episode usually is so brief that you don’t remember it. But the repeated awakenings interrupt your sleep, making it hard to reach the deep restful phases. They can also cause you to feel tired during the day, even after a good night’s sleep. You may also develop a sore throat or dry mouth.
3. Daytime sleepiness
Often, people with sleep apnea feel tired throughout the day — even after a full night of sleep. This is caused by interrupted sleep and a lack of deep restful sleep, and can lead to trouble concentrating, memory problems and mood changes.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when upper airway muscles relax and pinch off the breathing passages during sleep. It most commonly affects people who are overweight. Other risk factors include a thicker neck, inherited or medical conditions like diabetes and hypothyroidism, and medical problems such as enlarged tonsils and adenoids. Symptoms include frequent, loud snoring; breathless, jerking body movements during sleep; and waking up with a feeling of gasping or choking. It can also cause poor concentration, headaches, mood changes and fatigue. The most reliable way to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea is an overnight test called a polysomnogram, which can be performed in a sleep lab or at home using equipment that monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, airflow and breathing patterns.
4. High blood pressure
People with obstructive sleep apnea have higher blood pressure than others, and the condition can lead to resistant hypertension, a form of high blood pressure that doesn’t respond to medications. This is linked to the fact that sleep apnea raises your heart rate and puts strain on the heart and blood vessels.
Your risk for obstructive sleep apnea increases as you get older, and you’re more likely to develop it if you are male or overweight. You also have a higher chance of having it if you have a narrowed airway, large tonsils or enlarged adenoids. A family history of sleep apnea or other medical conditions like diabetes can also increase your risk.
5. Heart disease
People with sleep apnea can have heart problems because they stop breathing for a short period at night, several times a night. This deprives the body of oxygen and raises levels of inflammation. This can damage the heart over time, especially if it is already weak.
The most common type of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. It happens when the throat collapses and closes during sleep, which causes you to lose oxygen. This can happen 30 times or more each hour.
People with obstructive sleep apnea often snore loudly and have trouble getting good rest. This can cause severe fatigue and irritability. It can also increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. People with a family history of sleep apnea are at higher risk, as are those who are overweight or use alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers.