8 Symptoms Of Suffering From Sleep Apnea… You Need To Know This Right Away!

[LoShiNi]

Sleep apnea is a disorder, which causes us to repeatedly stop breathing during the night. For the majority of people, sleep apnea is caused because the walls of the throat relax and stretch at night, interrupting normal breathing. This could be due to large tonsils, congested nasal passages, or several other factors. There are also other risk factors, for example, alcohol consumption, especially before going to bed, as well as taking medication with sedative effects. These are the main symptoms and complications of sleep apnea that you need to know about.

1. You’re exhausted despite getting enough sleep

When you stop breathing during the night, your sleep pattern is interrupted. Even if they’re not aware of it, people with sleep apnea frequently tend to wake up during the night. This prevents them from achieving deep sleep, even if they’re sleeping for the right amount of time.

2. You wake up with headaches

Apnea itself can cause problems in the blood flow, resulting in changes to oxygen levels in the brain, which can lead to headaches.

3. You wake up panting or choking

This is also very common in sleep apnea patients, and it’s exactly as it sounds. It isn’t dangerous, just very disturbing for you and anybody else in the same room.

4. Your partner says that you snore, choke, pant, or stop breathing

You can snore or choke during the night, but you never consciously wake up. Thus, the only way of knowing about your behavior while sleeping is by asking your partner.

Snoring doesn’t always mean you have sleep apnea, it’s just one possible sign.

5. You have high blood pressure

If your doctor has been unsuccessfully trying to treat your high blood pressure, a sleep apnea test makes sense. The stress which sleep apnea puts on your body and heart at night can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular health problems. The American Association for Respiratory Care estimates that up to 50% of people with sleep apnea also have high blood pressure. This is a complication resulting from sleep apnea, not an initial symptom.

6. Heart palpitations

The abrupt change in oxygen levels that occurs when you stop breathing at night can cause an irregular heartbeat, which can lead to more serious problems, such as cerebrovascular attacks, blood clots, and heart failure. For some people, the abnormal heartbeat only occurs at night, but more frequently, it persists during the day as well. An abnormal heartbeat is another complication of sleep apnea.

7. High blood sugar levels

Sleep apnea is also related to blood sugar, which is difficult to control, even with treatment. In addition, research shows that sleep apnea can reduce your body’s ability to process glucose and resist insulin. Over time, this can increase the risk of developing diabetes and is also a complication.

8. Altered mood

This isn’t the main symptom of sleep apnea, and there are many other reasons for it, but irritability occurs after inadequate sleep.

If you have any of these signs or symptoms and your partner has told you about your complications, then you should think about an evaluation. The test consists of using oxygen tubes, or if your doctor recommends it, visiting a sleep clinic. If you do have sleep apnea, the treatment is simple. It includes lifestyle changes, such as exercise, sleeping with a CPAP device, which regulates breathing and, and, in some cases, surgery to clear the obstruction.