Sleep apnea is an extremely commonly seen sleep disorder that affects over twelve million US citizens and today is as common as adult diabetes.

The commonest type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea which, as its name implies, arises from an obstruction to your airways that creates problems problems with breathing. There is also another type of sleep apnea known as central sleep apnea, in which your brain fails to control your breathing adequately during sleep. Many people also suffer from mixed sleep apnea, which is a mixture of both obstructive and central forms of the condition.

The symptoms of sleep apnea can appear at any time and, while they are most frequently seen in overweight men who are over the age of 40, they can be seen in men and women at any age and are being seen quite frequently today in children.

The most obvious symptom of sleep apnea is snoring which is unfortunately a hard symptom to spot yourself and normally has to be pointed out by your sleeping partner. There can be a variety of reasons for snoring and snoring is not by itself an indication that you are suffering from sleep apnea. It is a fact however that the majority of people with sleep apnea do snore.

The second most obvious symptom is unusual tiredness during the day. When you suffer from sleep apnea you stop breathing regularly throughout the night and your body’s instinctive reaction to this is to wake you just sufficiently to start you breathing again, but not sufficiently so that you are aware of the fact that you are being awakened. The result of this is that your sleep is frequently interrupted and very light and you do not get the deep sleep that the body needs in order to recharge its batteries. Consequently, over time, you find yourself getting more and more tired and sleepy during the day.

Without treatment, the affects of sleep apnea will begin to become more and more evident and additional symptoms will start to appear. These may include headaches (especially first thing in the morning), petulance and possibly depression. You could also notice yourself starting to put on weight.

A less obvious symptoms of sleep apnea is raised blood pressure which can result in several cardiovascular difficulties. This will be picked up if you are among the growing number of people who are now monitoring their own blood pressure at home but will not otherwise be detected until you have a routine physical exam with your physician.

Another increasingly common symptom is that of learning difficulties and problems with memory retention. Once again this is not something that is rasy to detect yourself but family and friends might well notice that you are no longer as quick on the uptake as you once were.

Some people with sleep apnea will experience a decline in sexual function and this may result in impotency.

As is the case with the majority of conditions individual symptoms by themselves could be a sign of just about anything. But, when you start to see these symptoms alongside each onther then you should think about consulting your doctor and possibly think about being tested for sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is only one of a number of sleep disorders which might or might not be connected including insomnia, jet lag, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy.