What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep Apnea is a common disorder in which an individual has one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while sleeping. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. Often, they occur 5 to30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.
Sleep Apnea usually is a chronic (ongoing) condition that disrupts your sleep. You often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep when your breathing pauses or becomes shallow. This results in poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. It is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.
It can be tough to identify Sleep Apnea on your own as the symptoms only occur when you’re asleep. So, you can overcome this difficulty by asking your bed partner to observe your sleep habits or recording yourself during sleep.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
- Morning headaches
- Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat
- Night-time awakenings
- Forgetfulness and difficulty to concentrate
Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
- Loud and chronic snoring
- Long pauses in breathing
- Choking, snoring, or gasping during sleep
何謂睡眠呼吸暂停症？
Sleep Apnea或稱睡眠呼吸暂停症或睡眠窒息症，是一种睡眠时候呼吸停止的睡眠障碍。男性的发病率比女性高2至8倍，平均20个成年人则有一人患上；老年人病发率则为10%。另外，肥胖、扁桃腺过大、鼻骨移位、酗酒、吸烟及服用安眠药的人士较易患上睡眠呼吸暂停症。
欲確定自己是否患上睡眠呼吸暫停是蠻艱難的，由於症狀只發生正當你睡著。 所以，你可以尋求你配偶或伴侶的協助，觀察你的睡眠習慣，或許錄製自己睡眠的過程 。
常見的睡眠呼吸暂停症跡象和症狀
- 早上醒來頭痛
- 早上醒來口乾或喉嚨痛
- 夜間覺醒
- 健忘和集中困難
主要的睡眠呼吸暂停症跡象和症狀
- 響亮和慢性的鼾聲
- 比較長的睡眠呼吸暫停
- 窒息，打鼾或睡眠喘息
