Sleep Apnea Symptoms Can Be Difficult To Recognize

The symptoms of sleep apnea are most frequently seen in men overweight men above the age of forty although they can appear at any age in both women and men and are now being seen more and more in children.

Sleep apnea's clearest symptom is snoring which is difficult to spot yourself and usually needs to be brought to your attention by a sleeping partner. However, there are many reasons for snoring and the simple fact that you snore does not by itself mean that you are suffering from sleep apnea. It is a fact however that most sleep apnea sufferers snore.

The next most obvious symptom of sleep apnea is undue daytime tiredness. People who suffer from sleep apnea stop breathing frequently during sleep and the body's defense against this is to awaken you enough for you to begin breathing again, but not to waken you sufficiently for you to be conscious of the fact that you are being awakened. This of course means that your sleep is continually interrupted and therefore very light so that you do not get the deep sleep which your body needs. As a result you become more and more tired during the day.

Left untreated the effects of sleep apnea begin to appear and you will start to experience additional symptoms which could include headaches (especially first thing in the morning), bad temper and even depression. You could also find that you are beginning to put on weight.

Yet another less obvious indication of sleep apnea is an increase in blood pressure which can lead to several cardiovascular difficulties. If you are one of the increasing number of people who are starting to monitor their own blood pressure regularly at home you should pick this up quite easily but, it not, it will not be discovered unless you attend the doctor's office to have a routine physical.

Another symptom is that of learning difficulties and growing difficulties with memory retention. Once again this is not something which is easy for you to spot yourself but other people may notice that you are not as fast on the uptake as you used to be.

Finally, some sufferers from sleep apnea will notice a decline in sexual function which can eventually lead to impotency.

Any of these symptoms in isolation could point to just about any problem you care to mention. When you start to notice these symptoms appearing alongside one another however there is a good chance that you are suffering from sleep apnea and you need to talk to your doctor and think about taking a test for sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder which often goes undiagnosed because it is not always easy to spot the symptoms of this growing and sometimes dangerous sleep disorder.

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