Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Posted: March 4, 2010
By: Sara

Sleep apnea is a condition that keeps you from getting enough sleep. You actually stop breathing while you are sleeping. This is only for short periods of time and most people don’t even know this is happening. Sometimes you may have choking or gasping sensations that you don’t even realize. Your sleeping partner may be alarmed by this, but they are the only ones witnessing this (OSA). You may wake up every morning wondering why you don’t feel rested. Sleep apnea is not something that is automatically detected, it takes special sleep studies to find this illness.

Potential Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are as follows:

• Extreme sleepiness in the daytime when you know you went to bed early enough.
• Waking in the morning feeling like you haven’t slept at all. You may forget things and not be able to concentrate.
• Headaches may be a problem. Approximately 50% of sleep apnea patients report headaches.
• Leg swelling may be a problem.
• Possible heartburn.
• Feeling the urge to urinate in the middle of the night.
• Pains in the chest and sweating may occur.

Symptoms Others May Observe

Other people in the room with you or your sleeping partner may notice some more characteristics which are:

• Many silences during the night. This is when you are not breathing. The frequency of this apnea may be between 5-50 episodes a night, depending on how bad your OSA is.
• Loud snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea, although not all people that snore suffer from sleep apnea.
• Tossing and turning during sleep.
• Gasping noises and choking sounds.
• Sudden, sharp awakening during the night, which often startles the patient and also his room mates.

Some symptoms of OSA in children younger than 5 years of age are the same as adults but the symptoms in children older than 5 include snoring, growing spurts may be somewhat delayed, wetting the bed may be a problem and behavioral problems may exist.

Some of the reasons that people have sleep apnea include being obese, but thin people can have OSA also. Tonsils and adenoids that are very large may contribute to sleep apnea along with nasal congestion and a deviated septum.

Sleep apnea is detrimental to the health because it causes sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation which can also contribute to depression. Your physician will probably order special tests. If he confirms a sleep apnea diagnosis, he will probably advise you to lose weight, stop smoking and alcohol use, sleep on your side and elevate your head. If none of this provides satisfactory results, the next step would be a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) mask. Many people find these to be very beneficial.

This article is not intended to be used as a medical advice, if you are experiencing any medical problems please consult your physician