One of the main sleep apnea side effects is an overall feeling of fatigue. People often feel tired even after sleeping for hours. Other minor sleep apnea side effects include depression, anxiety, and irritability. Additional serious sleep apnea side effects include an increased risk of heart attack and stroke along with a greater incidence of high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. There is also some evidence connecting sleep apnea to sudden infant death syndrome, but the correlation is still uncertain.
People who suffer from sleep apnea occasionally stop breathing for extended periods while sleeping. The length of time for these breathing interruptions is normally about 10 or 15 seconds, but they can last longer. Sleep apnea sufferers can also breathe very shallow for extended periods. The most common form of sleep apnea is caused by temporary obstruction of the breathing pathway. Another form of the disorder is caused by the brain failing to keep a person’s breathing muscle functioning in a regular rhythmic way.
Sleep apnea reduces the amount of oxygen in a person’s blood stream, which has a tendency to damage cells. Most scientists think that brain cells are the most severely damaged by this problem. Having lower oxygen levels can also lead to an overall feeling of weakness, and many people with sleep apnea may have these kinds of symptoms without knowing exactly why. This is especially true among people who have sleep apnea but don’t realize it, and that is fairly common since sleep apnea is often undiagnosed.
Many sleep apnea side effects can be treated directly, and their occurrence can be significantly reduced by treating the sleep apnea itself. The most common treatment strategy is called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). When people take CPAP therapy, they wear a mask over their noses that keeps air pumping into their nostrils and stops the airway from collapsing. Getting used to sleeping with a CPAP can be difficult for some people, and it isn’t always the first way doctors try to treat the disorder.
In some cases, it is possible to treat sleep apnea simply by changing sleeping positions. Sleep apnea can often be triggered by sleeping on the back, and for some people, it is possible to reduce sleep apnea side effects by simply sleeping on their sides. This can often be accomplished with the use of special pillows and sleeping accessories. For other people, sleep apnea may be caused by use of alcohol or cigarettes, and reducing consumption of these items can be very helpful in those cases.
