9 Signs Someone May Have Sleep Apnea

Have you ever wondered if you have sleep apnea? Do you typically get a full night of undisturbed sleep? If you frequently wake up during the night, you may have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, lots of Americans suffer from this condition. Since you may not recognize the symptoms, the disorder often goes undiagnosed. Sleep apnea affects people of all ages and genders, and some individuals may even be genetically predisposed to it. Sleep apnea is a condition that may affect many facets of your life. Whether it is affecting school, work, your social life, or your family, getting diagnosed and treated can increase your overall quality of life. 

Sleep apnea is considered to be a serious sleep disorder that can occur when the breathing of an individual is interrupted during their sleep time. Those individuals who try to ignore this issue can stop breathing entirely during the night, which can happen a number of times. Because of this, the brain as well as other parts of the body end up not getting enough oxygen. Below are certain signs which can indicate that an individual has sleep apnea:

• Due to sleep apnea, the individual tends to wake up in phases, and so they often feel tired instead of refreshed when they wake up in the morning. The individual may start to feel troubled from waking up with such low energy, and they may experience a constant urge to take small naps throughout the day.
• Loud snoring is considered to be one of the classic symptoms of sleep apnea. It is known to be caused due to the obstruction of the airflow, which is located at the back of the nose or the mouth.
• When there is a lack of undisturbed sleep during the night, the individual will not awake refreshed, as mentioned earlier. This leads to displays of irritation and becoming angry over small matters. Not getting those seven to eight hours of sleep at night can have a huge impact on a person’s mood.
• In addition to irritation, lack of sleep can also affect a person’s mood, even resulting in depression, since there is a negative impact on the mental health of the individual. Depression can then lead to sadness, causing the individual to lose interest in carrying out any of their normal daily activities.
• Due to sleep apnea, the individual starts to breathe more through his or her mouth than through the nose, and this may become hazardous. The individual starts to use their mouth to breathe because of congestion caused in the nasal passage.
• Those individuals who suffer from sleep apnea tend to start gaining weight. The reason for this is because there is a lot of fat deposits in the soft tissues of the neck and mouth. When one is sleepy, they unintentionally start to consume more food to try and stay awake or to get more energy. This leads to a vicious cycle of weight gain in the individual and has to be addressed in a timely manner.
• When an individual wakes up multiple times in the night to urinate, it is thought to be linked to sleep apnea. One may not naturally associate this symptom with sleep apnea, though, so it can easily be misdiagnosed.
• Lack of sleep can also lead to high blood pressure in an individual. Sleep apnea is known to interfere with one’s body systems, and this is a dangerous scenario that can also lead to stroke or heart failure.
• When the body system is disturbed due to sleep apnea, it can also result in night sweats and make you feel uncomfortable while you are sleeping.