When it comes to snoring, many people are often unaware that snoring is caused by anatomical and health problems. It also increases the risk of developing other diseases. Many think that snoring is not seriously dangerous to themselves and does not cause trouble for anyone if they sleep alone.
However, if anyone feels that they wake up in the morning not feeling refreshed, as if they haven’t had enough sleep, even though they have slept for 6-8 hours, and during the day feel sleepy, fatigued, sometimes have headaches, brain fog, slower thinking or decision-making than usual, frequent irritability, and restlessness at night with sudden waking and gasping for air as if choking, these symptoms are warning signs that you are facing “sleep apnea,” which is more than just normal snoring. This condition is caused by obstruction of the upper airway.
What diseases are at risk? When having sleep apnea
When a patient has anatomical obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, it causes difficulty in oxygen or airflow passage, resulting in intermittent breathing. When oxygen levels in the bloodstream drop, the brain, which is not asleep, senses this and signals the body to wake up to breathe. This may be a light awakening or a sudden, severe startle. Because of frequent awakenings, deep sleep cannot occur continuously as it should, affecting health and performance in daily life, work, or study. Long-term effects have been studied and found that obstructive sleep apnea is a risk factor for various diseases such as
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Insulin resistance, risk of diabetes
- Central obesity, risk of obesity
It is also found that people with sleep apnea often have coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease, as well as arrhythmias. Therefore, it is necessary for patients to be examined, diagnosed, and treated for sleep apnea by identifying the true cause.
Who is at risk of sleep apnea?
Besides those who snore and have the warning symptoms mentioned, sleep apnea often occurs in people with the following health problems:
- People who are obese or overweight. Statistics show that 60% of people with sleep apnea are overweight or obese.
- People with normal weight but have abnormal facial and skull structure, thick neck, small or short chin, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, or an unusually large tongue.
- People with nasal congestion, difficulty breathing due to swollen nasal passages, or abnormal nasal structure.
- People with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
- People with certain types of muscle weakness.
- People who regularly consume alcoholic beverages.
- People who regularly use sleeping pills.
- Postmenopausal women.
Stop the risk before it’s too late with a sleep apnea test “Sleeping Test”
If you are at risk, you should not ignore the need to undergo a “sleep apnea” test called the “Sleeping Test.”
For the testing procedure, the doctor will take a medical history to understand sleep-related problems and perform a physical examination. Then, the patient will be provided with a comfortable environment to sleep overnight in a Sleep Lab. Monitoring devices will be attached to detect signals from the body under the supervision of specialists. These include brain waves, electrocardiogram, signals of lung and abdominal expansion, movements of legs and arms, eyes, and chin to identify sleep patterns such as awakening, light sleep, deep sleep, or dreaming, and the duration of each stage. Breathing in and out, oxygen levels, and snoring sounds will also be measured.
The next day, after obtaining the test results, the doctor will analyze and assess the severity of sleep apnea to determine if treatment is necessary by looking at the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), which calculates the number of apnea and hypopnea events compared to total sleep time. The severity is classified into four levels: normal or non-harmful, mild, moderate, and severe. Then, a treatment plan will be made according to the cause.
This Sleep Test helps reduce the risk of diseases and death caused by sleep apnea. The doctor will recommend behavioral adjustments and treatment based on the cause and severity to improve quality of life and restore health in both the short and long term.