Have you ever woken up at night choking and realized that you “forgot” to breathe? Has your better half moved to the other spare bedroom to sleep since you snore so loudly? These are all signs of sleep apnea, and it’s a potentially fatal conditon of our modern times so take heed. Normal snoring is not harmful, but it’s important to know when it becomes apnea. Knowing what the symptoms are could give you a heads up if you want this condition treated.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is condition where your airways close off and breathing is disrupted or stops several times during sleep. It bascially means you are waking up several times a minute and never truly being asleep, but rather as one doctor put it “unconscious awake”

The most telling sign of apnea is very severe sleepiness during the day, especially in the afternoon. This is not just your typical sleepiness because of staying up late. You literally cannot stay awake, and are nodding off into what are called micro sleeps, which are different than normal nodding off in that you literall fall asleep for a few seconds. If you’ve ever been driving at night and been very sleepy but must stay awake to drive then that is what sleep apnea makes you feel like but you might be at the office or at school. Over time, sleep apnea will have more symptoms that you won’t like, we promise you.

Very loud and gaspy snoring is an almost certain indicator of sleep apnea A snore so loud that it wakes up the person sleeping beside you is a major sign of sleep apnea. Choking dreams are common in sleep apnea sufferers, because as they sleep they literally are choking. Because of the snoring and the open mouth sleeping it causes, you’ll lose a lot of moisture to the air and hence get dry mouth. Mouth open sleeping is just as bad as nasal sleeping for apnea.

Frequent wakings to either eat or hit the bathroom is common among apnea sufferers and the latenight eating can exacerbate the illness. Urination becomes frequent because of a certain hormone that is released when pressure on the heart is increased due to disruptions in breathing.

Heartburn, swelling of the legs, sweating, and chest pain are some other sleep apnea symptoms. Some may experience restlessness and may find themselves tossing and turning at night. If you have apnea and you wake in the morning still feeling tired you definitely have it. Some people tend to have problems in memory and concentration, and also experience personality changes. However, these sleep apnea symptoms alone are not good indicators of sleep apnea since they may very well be associated with other medical conditions.

About 18 million American adults are affected by sleep apnea. And the condition is not limited to seniors or adults. The age of the child when a parent suspects apnea is not a factor, but the symptoms might be different. For children below 5 years, sleep apnea symptoms would be snoring a lot, breathing through the mouth, restlessness, and waking up a lot during the night. Older children will start bed wetting and experiencing worsening behavior as they get increasingly sleep deprived.

If you experience these symptoms, or have a child or a relative that does, try out some home treatments. Better yet, consult a physician if you think you have sleep apnea. Get it treated fast, and get back to sleep.




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