Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is when the walls of your throat relax and narrow while you sleep, so your breathing stops and starts. Each pause wakes you briefly, usually without you knowing, so you do not get deep, restful sleep. It is thought that more than 1.5 million adults in the UK have OSA, and many do not know.
Symptoms
Often a partner notices the night-time symptoms first:
- loud snoring
- pauses in breathing, then gasping, snorting or choking
- waking up a lot, or needing to pee in the night
During the day:
- feeling very sleepy, and falling asleep easily
- poor concentration and memory
- headaches in the morning
- low mood or irritability
What raises the risk?
- being overweight, especially with a large neck
- being a man, or a woman after the menopause
- getting older
- drinking alcohol or taking sleeping pills
- smoking
- large tonsils or a small jaw
Getting diagnosed
Your GP may ask you to fill in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, a questionnaire about daytime sleepiness. If OSA is likely, you will be referred to a sleep clinic for a sleep study, usually done at home with a small device that monitors your breathing and oxygen levels overnight.
Read about sleep apnoea treatment.
Common questions
Is snoring the same as sleep apnoea?
No. Many people snore without having sleep apnoea. In sleep apnoea, snoring is often very loud and is broken by pauses in breathing, then snorting or gasping.
Is sleep apnoea dangerous?
Untreated, it raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Tiredness can also cause accidents, including on the road.
Sources we used
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