them to be very sleepy during the day. Sleep apnea is more common in African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders. If someone in your family has sleep apnea, you are more likely to develop sleep apnea than
someone without a family history of the condition.
Obstructive sleep apnea can also occur in children who snore. If your child snores, you should discuss it with your child’s doctor or healthcare provider.
What Are The Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
The most common signs of sleep apnea are:
- Loud snoring
- Choking or gasping during sleep
- Fighting sleepiness during the day (even at work or while driving)
Your family members may notice the symptoms before you do. You will likely not otherwise be aware that you have problems breathing while asleep.
Other signs of sleep apnea may include:
- Morning headaches
- Memory or learning problems
- Feeling irritable
- Not being able to concentrate on your work.
- Mood swings or personality changes, perhaps feeling depressed
- Dry throat upon waking
- Frequent urination at night.
How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
Some of the ways to help doctors diagnose sleep apnea include:
- A medical history that includes asking you and your family questions about how you sleep and how you function during the day
- Checking your mouth, nose, and throat for extra or large tissues, for example, tonsils, uvula (the tissue that hangs from the middle of the back of the mouth), and soft palate (roof of your mouth in the back of your throat)
- A sleep recording of what happens with your breathing.
A sleep recording is a test that is often done in a sleep center or sleep laboratory, which may be part of a hospital. You may stay overnight in the sleep center, although sleep studies are sometimes done in the home. The most common sleep recording used to find out if you have sleep apnea is called a polysomnogram (poly-SOM-no-gram) or PSG. This test records:
- Brain activity
- Eye movement
- Muscle activity
- Breathing and heart rate
- How much air moves in and out of your lungs while you are sleeping
- The percent of oxygen in your blood
A PSG is painless. You will go to sleep as usual. The staff at the sleep center will monitor your sleep throughout the night. The results of your PSG will be analyzed by a sleep medicine specialist to see if you have sleep apnea, how severe it is, and what treatment may be recommended.
In certain circumstances, the PSG can be done at home. A home monitor can be used to record heart rate, how air moves in and out of your lungs, the amount of oxygen in your blood, and your breathing effort. For this test, a technician will come to your home and help you apply the monitor you will wear overnight. You will go to sleep as usual, and the
technician will come back the next morning to get the monitor and send the results to your doctor.
Once all your tests are completed, the sleep medicine specialist will review the results and work with you and your family to develop a treatment plan. In some cases, you may also need to see another physician for evaluation of:
- Lung problems (pulmonologist)
- Problems with the brain or nerves (neurologist)
- Heart or blood pressure problems (cardiology)
- Ear, nose, or throat problems (ENT)
- Psychologist or psychiatrist
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
Treatment is aimed at restoring regular nighttime breathing and relieving symptoms such as very loud snoring and daytime sleepiness.
If you have mild sleep apnea, some changes in daily activities or habits may be all that are needed:
- Avoid alcohol, smoking, and medications that make you sleepy. They will make it harder for your throat to stay open while you sleep.
- Lose weight if you are overweight. Even a little weight loss can improve
your