The biggest concern for people with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is the frequent sleep disruption, due to varying levels in repeated pauses in breathing cycles.
This can lead to varying levels of daytime tiredness and excessive sleepiness, significantly impacting daytime function, with increasing the risk of accidents.
Daytime Sleepiness and Fatigue
Frequent arousals at night, caused by breathing interruptions, fragment sleep and often result in poor restorative sleep (feeling unrefreshed, despite some sleep), with persistent fatigue/tiredness throughout the day.
This is often very debilitating.
Chronic daytime tiredness may often make concentration more difficult, may impair memory, and may increase the risk for driving and workplace accidents.
Health Risks and other potential complications
Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) often poses a raised risk for certain other health conditions, including:
- High blood pressure (hypertension) which may have an impact on cardiovascular disease (such as a raised risk of cardiac symptoms) due to repeated interruptions in circulating blood oxygen levels, due to ongoing obstructed interruptions in breathing patterns
- Due to the interruptions in circulating oxygen, there may also be increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which may lead to the development of metabolic syndrome.
- A lot of people with untreated OSA report mood disturbances, such as unexplained irritability, which may lead to bouts of depression, which may in turn lead to an impaired quality of life.
Relationship and Social Impact
Loud snoring and sleep disturbances may also disrupt a partners’ sleep, causing them irritability also, often eroding relationships. Partners may opt to sleep in separate rooms.
In summary, fragmented and regularly broken sleep, often leads to high levels of daytime fatigue, the most immediate and pervasive challenges for people with OSA. Untreated OSA may also pose substantial long-term health risks and social issues also.
Please speak with your GP, who can refer you for assessment of your symptoms and the appropriate treatment, if required. email your referral to: contact@sleephealthclinic.ie This is a Health Mail address.