Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The symptoms of sleep apnea often appear gradually over time. Some are fairly obvious and straightforward, others may be vague or ambiguous.

I've put together a fairly comprehensive list of sleep apnea symptoms to help you figure out whether this common sleep disorder is affecting your sleep (and life!).

Having just one of the symptoms below (with the exception of having someone witness you stop breathing while asleep - which is a dead giveaway!) doesn't necessarily mean that you have sleep apnea.

However, two or three should definitely raise the warning flag...

• Chronic Daytime Tiredness/Sleepiness
  If you constantly feel exhausted, have trouble functioning on a daily basis due to fatigue, experience mood swings, depression, memory problems, poor co-ordination or tend to fall asleep anytime you stop moving - chances are good that you're sleep deprived. And it could be caused by sleep apnea!


• Snoring
  Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but if you've ever been told that your snoring can be heard all through the house (or even the neighborhood!), it could be due to sleep apnea. Snoring that also includes snorting, choking, gurgling or grunting noises is often due to obstructive sleep apnea.


• Waking up with a sore/dry throat
  Sleep apnea sufferers often wake up with a sore throat or excessively dry mouth. This is due to the fact that they sleep with their mouths open because they're constantly struggling to breath. Of course, there are other possible causes for a sore throat (ranging from allergies to enlarged tonsils/adenoids), but if you regularly wake up with a sore, scratchy throat, consider sleep apnea.


• High blood pressure
  High blood pressure can be caused by many different things. However, if you have any other symptoms of sleep apnea PLUS high blood pressure, there's a good chance you're suffering from this particular sleep disorder.


• Irregular heartbeat
  The stress of trying to breath during sleep apnea episodes, and the resulting lack of oxygen in the body, puts enormous stress on your heart. This can damage and weaken it and you many experience irregular heartbeats during the day. Other serious, some potentially fatal, cardiovascular problems can also result.

There are also other possible sleep apnea symptoms you may notice, these include -

Sudden and frequent awakenings accompanied by a feeling of choking, gasping or coughing.

The need to urinate frequently during the night.

Recurrent/persistent heartburn.

Swollen legs and/or ankles.

The bottom line...

Only a qualified physician can make an accurate diagnosis of sleep apnea, and as this condition will only worsen if left untreated, the sooner you seek help the better!

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