How do i know if i have sleep apnea? i woke up in the middle of the night and could not breathe for about five second, i'm sixteen and very worried about this.

People : People with sleep apnea often snore a lot. If you are worried about the episode, you could ask one of your parents to observe you sleep to see if you breath continually. However, before you get worried over this one episode; I have to tell you that many of my patients wake up from nightmares with a similar reaction. Sleep apnea is diagnosed through a polysomnogram (sleep study).

The : The only way to determine if you have sleep apnea, as opposed to a sleep disturbance, is to have an assessment by a obstructive sleep apnea team. These teams are usually affiliated with a regional medical center / hospital. They will perform a history and physical to determine if there are any medical / pharmacological causes for your symptoms. You will be asked to undergo a sleep study to determine the presence of sleep apnea and to determine its severity and to further rule out causes. An apnea / hypopnea index will be determined. If you do have sleep apnea, a cause will be determined. Sometimes something as simple as weight loss will correct the problem.