If you snore or dream that you are suffocating, or have folks tell you you stop breathing while you sleep then pay attention. Has your better half moved to the other spare bedroom to sleep since you snore so loudly? What you’re having may be sleep apnea symptoms, and you don’t want to take those for granted. Normal snoring is not harmful, but it's important to know when it becomes apnea. Severe snoring is enough to merit a trip to your doctor and doctors are taking apnea very seriously now.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is condition where your airways close off and breathing is disrupted or stops several times during sleep. In mild cases, breathing disruptions could occur five times in one hour while in more severe cases, these disruptions could occur up to fifty times in an hour.
A key sleep apnea symptom for adults is excessive sleepiness during the day. This is not just your typical sleepiness because of staying up late. You know you have excessive sleepiness when you fall asleep in inappropriate times of the day such as while talking, eating, or even driving. This could have severe consequences, as you may get into motor vehicle accidents or poor performance at school or work. This is just but one of many sleep apnea symptoms.
Another warning sign for sleep apnea is loud snoring. A snore so loud that it wakes up the person sleeping beside you is a major sign of sleep apnea. If you wake up during the night gasping for air and choking, it may very well be sleep apnea. One of the many sleep apnea symptoms is waking up at night with a dry mouth. Mouth open sleeping is just as bad as nasal sleeping for apnea.
In severe cases of sleep apnea, some frequently wake up at night to urinate. Ironically, the apnea puts pressure on the heart which causes hormonal changes in the body and that makes the body urinate more.
Restless legs, reflux and a whole host of other ailments are precipitated by apnea. Resltessness leads to more waking, more eating and more weight, which in turn makes the apnea worse Other symptoms would be waking up in the morning still feeling tired and usually having headaches. And with lack of sleep comes sleep deprivation problems like memory impairment and mental fogginess. However, these sleep apnea symptoms alone are not good indicators of sleep apnea since they may very well be associated with other medical conditions.
A growing number of sufferers of apnea are seeking help. And the condition is not limited to seniors or adults. Sleep apnea symptoms in children vary depending on their age. 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. Symptoms for children who are 5 years and older include snoring, bed-wetting, poor performance in school, short attention span, and in some cases, growing slower than most kids their age.
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.
