Every family has one. The person whose snoring can be heard through walls, closed doors and sometimes even from the neighbour’s house. Yet somehow they remain blissfully unaware of just how much noise they make. If that sounds familiar, it might be time to wake up.
Snoring is often treated as a bit of a joke, something partners complain about and everyone else learns to live with. While not everyone who snores has obstructive sleep apnoea, loud, regular snoring is one of the most common warning signs of a condition estimated to affect around 5-20% of adults.
Sleep apnoea occurs when the muscles in the throat relax during sleep, causing the airway to repeatedly narrow or collapse. Breathing stops, sometimes dozens of times an hour, before the brain briefly wakes the body just enough to start breathing again.
The catch is most people never remember it happening. They simply wake up thinking they had a full night’s sleep when, in reality, their brain has been working overtime just to keep them breathing. It’s hard to feel rested when your body has spent the night doing unpaid overtime.
For shift workers, recognising the signs can be even harder. Early starts, night shifts and long rosters already leave many people feeling tired, making it easy to blame fatigue on the job rather than an underlying health condition. Other signs can be easy to overlook too, including difficulty concentrating, irritability and problems with memory.
The problem is untreated sleep apnoea doesn’t just leave you feeling exhausted. It’s also linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, as well as an increased risk of workplace and road accidents due to reduced alertness.
Sometimes the first person to notice something isn’t the person with the condition at all. Partners are often the ones who hear the loud snoring, the gasping, or the long pauses between breaths. If someone has ever suggested you stop breathing during the night, they’re probably not exaggerating for dramatic effect.
Sleep apnoea is treatable. For some people, losing weight, reducing alcohol consumption or changing sleeping position can help. Others benefit from treatments such as a CPAP machine, which keeps the airway open throughout the night.
Many people who start treatment say the biggest surprise isn’t sleeping with a machine beside the bed. It’s discovering what a proper night’s sleep actually feels like.
| DON’T SLEEP ON THESE SIGNS – Loud, regular snoring. – Gasping, choking or stopping breathing during sleep. – Waking with headaches or a dry mouth. – Feeling tired despite spending enough time in bed. – Difficulty concentrating, irritability and problems with memory. – Struggling to stay awake while driving, watching television or sitting quietly. – A partner who keeps threatening to record your snoring as evidence. If these signs sound familiar, talk to your GP about whether you should be assessed for sleep apnoea. |
