The Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea Can Be Hard To Recognize
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The symptoms of sleep apnea are most frequently observed in men who are over forty and also overweight but they can appear at any age in both men and women and are being seen more and more in children.
The most obvious symptom of sleep apnea (which is merely one of several commonly seen sleep disorders) is snoring which is difficult to spot by yourself and usually has to be brought to your attention by a sleeping partner. There are many reasons for snoring and the simple fact that you snore does not itself mean that you are suffering from sleep apnea. It is a fact however that the majority of sleep apnea sufferers snore.
The next most obvious symptom of sleep apnea is excessive tiredness during the day. Sleep apnea sufferers stop breathing frequently while sleeping and the body’s defense against this is to awaken you enough for you to start breathing again, but not enough for you to be conscious of the fact that you are being aroused. This means that your sleep is constantly interrupted and thus very light so that you are not getting the deep sleep that your body needs. As a consequence you grow more and more tired during the day.
Left untreated the effects of sleep apnea start to appear and you will start to experience additional symptoms which could include headaches (in particular first thing in the morning), touchiness and even depression. You may also find that you are starting to gain weight.
Yet another less obvious sign of sleep apnea is a rise in blood pressure which can give rise to several cardiovascular problems. should you be one of the increasing number of people who are starting to monitor their own blood pressure at home you will pick this up fairly easily but, otherwise, it will not be found unless you attend the doctor for a routine physical examination.
A further symptom is that of learning difficulties and growing difficulties with memory retention. Once again this is not something which is easy for you to see yourself but others around you may notice that you are no longer as quick on the uptake as you once were.
Lastly, some sleep apnea sufferers will notice a decline in sexual function that can eventually lead to impotency.
Each of these symptoms by themselves could be indicative of almost any problem you can think of. If you begin to see these symptoms appearing together however there is a good chance that you are suffering from sleep apnea and you ought to consult your physician and think about having a sleep apnea test.
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