Do you wake up a lot in the middle of the night?  Do you feel tired and dragging during the day even though you’ve had a full night’s sleep?  Do you snore so bad you keep your bedmate or even your housemates up at night?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a serious condition called sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is simply a disorder that causes you to stop breathing in the middle of the night, sometimes for up to a minute.  Eventually, you wake up, begin breathing again, and go back to sleep; often you don’t even remember waking up at all. 

So if you just wake up all night long, why is sleep apnea so dangerous?  The most obvious reason is that sometimes people don’t wake up.  If you are in a very deep sleep, your body may not realize what’s going on and you’ll suffocate to death.  This occurrence is similar to SIDs in babies. 

The other danger of apnea is sleep deprivation.  Humans experience various stages of sleep; each stage rebuilds and rests a different part of the brain or body.  If you don’t get appropriate amounts of each stage of sleep, it can cause serious problems.  Constant waking up during the night, even if you don’t remember it, can reset your sleep cycle.  This means you get less of the later stages of sleep, so you’ll be sleep deprived even if you’re getting a full 8 hours of sleep each night (and that’s a big if).  Sleep deprivation, along with physical impairments, can decrease your speech functioning, reasoning skills, and other brain functions.  This increases your likelihood for having car accidents and other accidents which could be dangerous.

While you may be able to determine if you have sleep apnea through your partner monitoring your breathing, or by using a tape recorder, the best way to know is to pay a visit to your doctor.  If they think your fears are warranted, they will recommend you participate in a sleep study.  You will be required to sleep at the study site for a night.  There they will attach you to various types of equipment, and monitor your sleep and breathing patterns.  Most people find sleep studies annoying and uncomfortable, but they are an important part of proper diagnosis.  Symptoms of sleep apnea can be mimicked by other disorders, like restless legs syndrome.  Getting diagnosed properly means you get the right treatment that will at least make you feel better and at most save your life.

Once properly diagnosed, your doctor will recommend treatment depending on the type and severity of your condition.  Mild apnea can often be treated by modifying your diet and sleeping habits.  You may also be required to sleep with equipment like a specialized pillow or a device for your mouth.  In more severe cases, you may require medicine or even surgery.  Your doctor may also recommend you try more than one of these treatments to get the best results.

 All this information about sleep apnea is probably making you a little worried, but you shouldn’t panic.  Most cases of apnea are easily and effectively treated.  Once your apnea is under control you’ll likely feel more energized, have improved mental capabilities, get sick less, and even lose weight.  With proper treatment, you too can enjoy the benefits of a good night’s sleep.

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Sleep | Could You be Suffering from Sleep Apnea?