Sleep Apnea is a disorder that is characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. It is often signaled by snoring and is generally followed by tiredness the next day.
Because sleep apnea can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke, it’s important to talk to your doctor if you suspect it’s the cause of your fatigue.
Complications may include cardiovascular problems, daytime fatigue, complications with medications and surgery, and sleep-deprived partners.
Cardiovascular problems include sudden drops of blood oxygen, which can result in increasing blood pressure and strain on the cardiovascular system. If there’s underlying heart disease, these multiple episodes of low blood oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) can lead to sudden death from a cardiac event.
If you experience problems such as snoring loud enough to disturb the sleep of others or yourself, shortness of breath that awakens you from sleep, intermittent pauses in your breathing during sleep, and excessive daytime drowsiness, it’s time to visit your doctor.
Click here for an excellent health article from the Mayo Clinic on the subject of Sleep Apnea.
Here are a couple of excellent books on the subject of sleep apnea:
Hi, I am a 29-year old primary school teacher struggling very hard to cope with sleep apnea. But the good news is that I sought treatment very early as soon as noticed some weird symptoms: loud and persistent snoring, depression (I never used to feel depressed before), sudden and unexplained weight gain and the worst of them all, my mouth felt horribly dry when I woke up. Today, I am on sleep apnea therapy and do several sleep apnea exercises every day. I do feel that I am on my way to recovery.