What is sleep apnea like?

Many things: Sleep apnea may be waking up gasping for breath. You are less awake during the day. Driving can be as dangerous as driving drunk. Your attention and concentration is less. It is harder to remember things. You are more irritable and aggressive. It may be harder to keep a job. You will experience more health problems. Treatment can be a breathing machine, surgery, or an oral (dental) appliance.

Many things: Constant daytime sleepiness, low energy, tired and unable to function properly at work.

Apnea = Suffocation: Like being underwater; unable to breathe. When the co2 in blood gets too high, you blast to surface for a big gasp of air. Osa occurs when airway is blocked during sleep, muscles flaccid/paralyzed. When co2 is too high, brain enters crisis mode, lightens the level of sleep to permit active muscle control and permit a big gasp to replenish o2, then back to deep sleep to do it again. Get osa treated.

Low blood oxygen : These are typical signs of sleep apnea, a condition which involve periods of ten seconds or more without breathing (apnea) and periods of time with shallow breathing and a significant decrease in blood oxygen levels (hypopnia). This condition can be diagnosed by a sleep specialist with either an overnight at home sleep test or at a sleep clinic utilizing a full psg.

Tiring.: Sleep apnea makes you very tired during the day. You'd nod off while reading or watching television. You may awaken a few times overnight, but the majority of symptoms are actually during the day.

Hold your breath: Try to exhale then hold your breath for at least ten seconds. Many people have episodes that last more than a minute. Many people with sleep apnea are tired no matter how long they sleep. Imagine being woken up 5 or more times an hour, every hour, for weeks, months, or years.

OSA: A disorder in which breathing is frequently interrupted for brief intervals during sleep, Occurs when tissues in the throat collapse and block airflow in and out of the lungs during sleep, resulting in intermittent decreases in blood oxygen levels and transient arousals from sleep, leading to poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness.