Do you go to bed and wake up still feeling tired or sleepy throughout the day? You may be experiencing the effects of sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder that can cause severe health problems if left untreated.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder known for repetitive pauses in breathing that can limit the amount of oxygen reaching the brain throughout the night. These pauses in breathing can happen in intervals of seconds to minutes and can occur multiple times an hour.
Understanding Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea can be categorized into three types: obstructive, central, and complex sleep apnea. Each type has slightly different symptoms and mechanisms that are linked to its name.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type and is caused by airway blockages or muscle collapse in the throat during sleep. Central sleep apnea is a serious form of sleep apnea that is much less common and is caused by the brain’s inability to signal the muscles to breathe. Complex sleep apnea is a type of sleep apnea in which someone has both obstructive and central types of sleep apnea.
Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include breathing pauses during sleep, waking up with a dry mouth, sore throat, loud snoring, excessive day time sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, morning headaches, difficulty concentrating, and getting up during the night to use the restroom.
The Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Daytime Fatigue
One of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea is excessive day time sleepiness and fatigue. It’s not just caused by disrupted sleep, but lowered blood oxygen levels. This type of fatigue can also exacerbate the other symptoms associated with sleep apnea.
Excessive day time sleepiness and fatigue are caused by lowered levels of oxygen circulating through the blood. When someone with sleep apnea is sleeping, the muscles in the throat relax, causing the airway to become partially or completely closed off. As a result, the body does not receive enough oxygen, causing the ailment of hypoxia.
Hypoxia occurs when there is not enough oxygen reaching the body to function properly. As a result, the body undergoes a series of physiological responses that try to maintain adequate levels of oxygen. This can cause the person to wake up momentarily throughout the night, snore loudly, and have momentary heart rate increases. All of these responses can result in the person being unable to achieve restorative sleep, resulting in excessive day time sleepiness and fatigue.
Determining the Relationship
The only way to determine the relationship between sleep apnea and day time sleepiness and fatigue is to have a polysomnogram, commonly known as a sleep study. A sleep study involves going to a sleep center where the person is monitored while they sleep by a technician. The sleep technician monitors the person’s breathing, heart rate, brain activity, oxygen levels, and body movements in order to determine any abnormalities in sleep characteristics.
If sleep apnea is found to be the issue, there are some treatments that can help alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea and indirectly improve the excessive day time sleepiness and fatigue. Some common treatments include lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and smoking cessation, CPAP therapy, oral appliances, and in more severe cases, surgery.
Treating the symptoms of sleep apnea can improve the levels of fatigue and reduce the risk of other health complications caused by the ailment.
What to Do If You Think You Have Sleep Apnea
If you think you have sleep apnea, speak with a medical professional as soon as possible. Though it can often be overlooked as an annoyance, sleep apnea can be a serious problem and can cause health complications if left untreated. Your doctor will be able to help determine if you are experiencing sleep apnea and can help you determine what treatment(s) are right for you.
Hopefully, after learning about the connection between sleep apnea and daytime fatigue, you will have a better understanding of the ailment and its potential impacts on your health.
