..... Now, clearly, there are many reasons to feel excessively fatigued during the day (being a parent is one, for example, and having a job is another) but if you’re a loud snorer and you’re always excessively tired in the daytime even though you claim you are getting enough hours of shut-eye, and especially if you have any of the other risk factors listed earlier, you should 1) ask your bedmate – if you have one, of course, and if you don’t, then perhaps you should rent one for a few nights, just for research purposes, of course – if they’ve noticed any interrupted breathing while you were asleep, and 2) ask your doctor about the possibility you might have sleep apnea.
..... Sleep apnea is best diagnosed in a sleep laboratory (yes, there are people who actually get paid to watch other people sleep, a job prospect that intrigued my son until, that is, I told him that the observers weren’t allowed to sleep, too), but interestingly, a Canadian study has shown that sleep apnea can be reliably diagnosed with a home sleeping test kit, although the results have to be interpreted by a sleep specialist.
..... Finally, there’s the issue of treatment, which as always should start with lifestyle adjustment for risk factors (duhhh!) which means losing weight, not drinking too much alcohol, etc.
..... But if that isn’t enough, and it often isn’t, the next step is that treatment known as continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP, in which a device delivers air directly to your airways either through a mask that’s worn all night or some nose prongs. The trouble with CPAP is that many people find the device to be too cumbersome which is why some studies have found that 50 % of people give up on their CPAP device within a few weeks of getting one. That’s really a shame because studies have also shown that CPAP therapy is effective at lowering those sleep apnea-related complications I mentioned earlier, so it pays to try to persevere.
..... In severe cases, several types of surgery have been recommended, although the jury is still out on how effective they are.
Dr. Art Hister can be heard on CKNW and other Corus Radio Network stations on House Calls on Saturdays at 10 AM, as well as seen on Global TV news on Saturday mornings at 9:20. |
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