The CPAP Team
Written and edited by the cpap.com team. Our team is a dedicated group of writers, researchers, and CPAP experts specializing in sleep apnea education and management. With over two decades of experience in the field, we combine our collective knowledge to help readers navigate their sleep apnea journey with confidence and ease.
Awareness of Sleep Apnea
The symptoms of sleep apnea (stopped or reduced breathing during sleep) can be very subtle and easily attributed to other factors. How can you tell what you do while you’re sleeping? It’s not unusual to be unaware of having sleep apnea, a nighttime respiratory disorder. You probably think you are sleeping well. You may be in denial of the condition and unaware of its serious health risks. Your bed partner or family may be more aware of a potential problem than you are. Fifty percent or more of people with sleep-disordered breathing (SBD) remain undiagnosed. (Carl E Hunt MD p. xi in Johnson’s Sleep Apnea – The Phantom of the Night). Other estimates are that only 5% of people with SBD have been diagnosed. Most physicians do not routinely screen for sleep apnea, and may treat resulting conditions such as high blood pressure or depression, without discovering the root cause - SBD. Most people are unaware of the symptoms and risk factors. What is needed is early detection before heart damage or falling asleep at the wheel.
Untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, depression, glaucoma, obesity, diabetes, and a host of other medical problems. Other risks are driver fatigue, poor judgment, poor memory, and sleepiness leading to car crashes, wrongful death and injury.
The Most Common Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
- loud and frequent snoring (often but not always)
- periods of not breathing (apnea) during sleep, snorting, gasping, or choking during sleep
- need to urinate during the night (nocturia) See [1]
- high blood pressure
- morning headaches
- awakening tired in the morning, daytime or evening fatigue or lethargy
- daytime or evening sleepiness when sitting or inactive, drowsy driving or falling asleep while driving
- performing actions automatically or by rote, limited attention, memory loss
- poor judgment, personality changes
- weight gain, severe leg swelling
- especially in children, hyperactive behavior.
Possible Risk Factors
- decreased size of the airways in the throat, nose, or mouth due to anatomy or allergies. Family history of sleep apnea, large adenoids or large tongue, short lower jaw which causes the tongue to position itself further back in the throat
- overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more
- neck size for a man of 17 inches or more or for a woman of 16 inches or more
- male gender, or being a menopausal or postmenopausal woman. Both genders and all ages from infancy onward may have this condition.
- smoking and use of alcohol or sedatives
More Possible Indicators of Sleep Apnea
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma
- heart abnormalities, stroke
- high blood pressure that doesn’t respond to medication
- acid reflux or GERD
- diabetes
- deviated septum (cartilage separating the nostrils going off midline)
- bruxism (teeth grinding)
- insomnia
- adult bed wetting
- irritability, mood changes, anxiety, depression
- procrastination, difficulty acting on plans or finishing projects, diminished work performance
- social withdrawal, neglected relationships
- less interest in sex, sexual dysfunction
- persistent recurring dreams of struggle and failure
- the ability to fall asleep two or three hours after getting up in the morning, and/or long naps in the afternoon, and/or sleeping nine or more hours a night