Sneaky Signs of Sleep Apnea

After weeks of feeling tired all the time, you may be wondering if you have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea. Some of the commonly known symptoms of sleep apnea, besides being tired every day even when you think you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep the night before, include snoring and morning headaches. However, there are some other signs of sleep apnea that are not as well known.

Sleep apnea’s lesser known symptoms

In sleep apnea, you stop breathing while you sleep, which wakes you up very briefly. This can happen several times a night, and you may not even realize that you keep waking up. You might have sleep apnea if:

• Your sex drive is low. Sex hormones increase as we sleep, and so losing sleep can mean a decrease in these hormones, for both men and women.

• You have dramatic mood changes. Most people get grumpy if they don’t get enough sleep, but over time lack of sleep can lead to serious mood disorders. You may become anxious and depressed without really realizing why.

• You wake up to urinate twice or more during the night.

• You have acid reflux. In acid reflux, acids from the stomach back up into the esophagus, causing irritation. There does seem to be a link between sleep apnea and acid reflux, although researchers aren’t sure what comes first. About half of the people with sleep apnea also have acid reflux, and when sleep apnea is treated acid reflux seems to reduce as well.

If you are having trouble staying awake all day and you just can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep – and if you have any of these other lesser known symptoms – it may be sleep apnea. But you don’t have to live with it. There are different options available for treatment, including making lifestyle changes, using a CPAP machine, oral appliance therapy, and even surgery. The professionals at Lakeside Allergy ENT can help to find the treatment that is right for you based on what your needs are. Call the office in Rockwall and Forney today for an appointment, at (972) 771-5443!