What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep problem in which the sufferer will have pauses in their breathing while asleep.

With sleep apnea the breathing can either become constricted or stop altogether. Pauses in breathing can last a few seconds or even minutes and breathing often returns with a loud snore.

Sleep apnea attacks can happen fairly regularly, anywhere from 5 to 30 times per hour.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms.

One of the main symptoms of sleep apnea is daytime sleepiness often with irritability or restlessness and this is due to the interruption to deep sleep by the condition.

Common symptoms also include:

Loud heavy snoring, often interrupted by pauses and gasps.
Falling asleep during the day.
Irritability and a short temper.
Morning headaches.
Forgetfulness.
Changes in mood or behavior.

Although these sleep apnea symptoms are common to the condition they are also common with other sleep problems such as insomnia and narcolepsy.

Therefore if you think you might have sleep apnea or any other sleeping disorder be sure to consult your doctor to isolate exactly what the problem is.

Sleep Apnea Testing

Testing for sleep apnea can be very difficult to do as you are asleep when it happens and your partner will probably also be asleep so there will be no one there to hear or detect it.

Therefore some form of specialist testing will be necessary.

Epworth Sleepiness Test is a test which is carried out by sleep clinics.

The Epworth sleep test does not prove or disprove Sleep Apnea or any other sleep problems. Many other things could contribute to excessive daytime tiredness but the test is an indication of whether further testing is needed.

Sleep Apnea Statistics.

Because of the difficulty of diagnoses and because a lot of sleep apnea problems probably go unnoticed, the actual statistics for sleep apnea can be difficult to compile.

Approximately 4% of the men and 2% of the women who suffer from sleep apnea meet what is called the "diagnostic criteria" for the disorder. This criteria is an average of 10 apneic episodes over the course of an hour of sleep.

Sleep apnea can be treated in a number of ways but the most important thing....as with any sleep problems.....is correct diagnosis.

So if you feel that you have a sleep problem or sleep apnea the best advice is to seek diagnoses.