Sleep Apnea Symptoms & Warning Signs

Symptoms

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea and occurs when the tissues of the pharynx obstruct breathing patterns during sleep. When you are unable to breathe due to an obstruction in your windpipe, the oxygen level in your blood will drop, and you will either wake up to take a breath or gasp for air in your sleep.

One of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea is loud snoring, a noise that occurs when air cannot move through the nose, mouth, and throat smoothly. The amount of snoring does not necessarily correlate with the level of sleep apnea. Some people who snore do not have sleep apnea, and some people who have sleep apnea do not snore.

Snoring can help identify pauses in breathing during sleep. Typically, when breathing stops, snoring will subside. After this pause, the sleep apnea patient will grasp for air and then resume breathing.

According to recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, people with obstructive sleep apnea will lose tissue in areas of the brain that regulate memory. Scientists believe that the brain sustains injuries due to lowered levels of oxygen.

Children can also experience sleep apnea with symptoms that are different from adults. Children with sleep apnea may sleep longer, need more effort to breathe, experience hyperactivity, have difficultly focusing, and become temperamental. Children with sleep apnea may also wet the bed, have trouble growing, and complain of headaches.

Adults and children who wake up at night due to sleep apnea will not remember waking up at night. For this reason, sleep apnea symptoms might be difficult to identify.

Warning Signs

With central sleep apnea, the brain does not signal the body to breathe, so snoring might not occur. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to other symptoms including sleepiness after a full night's sleep, morning headaches, dry throat when waking up, difficulty remembering, problems concentrating, and unexplained irritability. People can develop central sleep apnea after experiencing a head injury or stroke.

If you experience sleep apnea symptoms without snoring, it is important that you seek medical attention. If your sleep apnea goes untreated, you may develop brain problems or memory loss. Over time, problems may be irreversible.