Sleep Apnea

also known as sleep apnoea

While we often consider it to be the easiest thing we can do in life, breathing is not always as simple as it sounds for everyone. Especially when we sleep. If you find yourself constantly waking up tired, feeling lethargic, or just never really feeling refreshed from your sleep, breathing difficulties may be the cause.

This is a condition known as sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea), and it’s an issue you could be experiencing without even knowing it.

What is sleep apnea?

Apnea, in very literal terms, means ‘stopped breathing’ or ‘no breath’. Don’t panic – while it sounds like a death sentence, it isn’t – but it can be damaging to your sleep health and therefore your overall well-being. If you suffer from sleep apnea, it means that air stops making its way into your lungs for 10 seconds or more at a time. It’s likely that this occurs frequently during the night, essentially meaning you’re stopping breathing.

When you stop breathing for this amount of time, your blood oxygen level decreases and causes your brain to wake up. You may not physically feel awake, but your brain is triggered to take a breath. Because your whole body doesn’t fully wake, you usually fall asleep again easily. The issue, however, is that this cycle can repeat over 30 times in an hour without you even knowing.

In simple terms, this is causing constant interruptions to your sleep, so your body is never fully able to perform all the functions it should during proper rest. As a result, you wake up feeling tired and almost as though you haven’t slept at all.

Alarmingly, 3 in 10 men and 1 in 5 women experience sleep apnea (sleep apnoea), and when left untreated it can cause serious long-term health effects. Luckily, you can find a sleep apnea treatment such as a CPAP mask which can improve your sleep and quality of life. If you think you may experience this condition, start looking for sleep apnea cures today, and take back your sleep!