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Living with Sleep Apnea

Like millions of women, I’ve lived with sleep apnea my entire adult life but was not successfully diagnosed and treated until quite late (age 56). I wish I had been diagnosed and treated earlier, because I have now developed several comorbidities that are somewhere between difficult and impossible to reverse. Undiagnosed and untreated, sleep apnea can do a lot of systemic damage.

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Featured

 My Journey to a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Wearing a CPAP Machine

For me, the road to being diagnosed with sleep apnea was paved with discomfort in the form of unnecessary and unrelated medical bias. In 2011, my primary care physician sent me to an ear, nose, and throat specialist to find out whether my snoring and air gasping were caused by an issue with my septum, sinuses, or tonsils. I only saw that specialist once.

 The toll that sleep apnea takes on the body

Even mild sleep apnea can cause you to stop breathing several times an hour—setting off a cascade of threats to your brain and heart health.

Articles of Interest

How to Tell If You Might Have One of the 3 Types of Sleep Apnea

You might wonder, “What’s the difference between obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea?” Central sleep apnea still involves repeated pauses in breathing during sleep but is not caused by the airway being blocked. Instead, it’s related to a complication of the central nervous system where the brain doesn’t properly signal the muscles to breathe due to some instability in the body’s respiratory control center, the Cleveland Clinic explains.

Sleepy and snoring? You may have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders, but research suggests it has wide ranging consequences, recognizing it can be a challenge, and common misconceptions might prevent sufferers from seeking treatment. Here’s what you should know, according to sleep medicine experts.

A Guide to Sleep Apnea

Yet most people who have it never get it diagnosed. They suffer night after night and jeopardize their health. Here’s what you need to know about sleep apnea, along with some of the best ways to detect and sometimes even cure it.

Climate change is boosting the risk of sleep apnea

The risk of having a severe sleep apnea event when it was very hot out nearly doubled in many northern countries, like Europe and Russia. It went up by about 40% in countries like the U.S.

Could Treating Sleep Apnea Be as Simple as Changing Positions?

Most people think treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) only involves devices such as a PAP machine or oral devices. But for some, treatment may be far simpler, with less investment in time and patience: positional therapy.

Get Stoned, Snore Less: New Survey Shows Cannabis Can Help With Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is much worse than just chainsaw-like snoring. It negatively impacts various aspects of one’s health. But a new survey in Minnesota shows that cannabis use could improve sleeping considerably.

How Does Sleep Apnea Affect Daily Life?

Sleep apnea is a common yet misunderstood sleep disorder that can significantly impact daily life. Characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, sleep apnea can lead to various health issues and affect overall well-being.

Is Sleep Apnea Genetic?

If someone in your family is diagnosed with a health condition, it’s pretty natural to wonder if you will also develop that condition. So, if you grew up with a parent that has sleep apnea, you may be left thinking: “Is sleep apnea genetic?” It’s a completely fair question. While we don’t know exactly what percentage of the population experiences sleep apnea, we do know that this is a very common sleep disorder that impacts a significant number of people.

Is Your Constant Fatigue Actually a Sign of This Common Sleep Disorder?

There’s a mountain of reasons why you might feel fatigued or tired on any given day, many of which are easy to brush off. You probably just didn’t sleep well or properly fuel yourself, or you’re on your period or coming down with a virus. Or maybe you’re feeling supremely overwhelmed and stressed out—let’s not forget the mental load of existing in the US in the year 2025. But what you may not realize? Feeling like you’re trudging oh so lethargically through the day is also an especially common sign of sleep apnea in women.

Regular Snoring or Sleep Apnea? What's the Difference?

Snoring is a main symptom of sleep apnea, but snoring alone does not mean you have sleep apnea. About 90 million Americans snore regularly, and around half of those have sleep apnea.1 Normal snoring is not harmful. It happens when the throat relaxes during sleep to partially block the airway. This causes the vibrations that make snoring noises. Snoring can be caused by many different genetic, anatomic, or lifestyle factors. But sleep apnea can be a much more serious condition. It is characterized by pauses in breathing or shallow breathing during sleep. When gone untreated, sleep apnea leads to sleeplessness and other health issues. But it can be treated once a doctor has determined the causes.

Sleep Apnea Linked to Parkinson’s Disease, New Study Finds

The study did not prove that sleep apnea caused Parkinson’s disease, nor that using CPAP machines could stave off the disease, said Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, a physician and sleep researcher at the University of Arizona who was not involved with the new research. Still, he said, the study was important — and to his knowledge, the largest and strongest to date suggesting the association between sleep apnea and Parkinson’s disease. He hopes it will encourage more research into the link.

Sleep apnoea cases have doubled in recent years – here's what to know about the little-known (but very common!) health condition

Snoring isn't just annoying AF for whoever shares your bed, it could also be a sign that you're suffering from sleep apnoea, a common health disorder that inhibits breathing and seriously interrupts sleep. In fact, a 2019 study found that sleep apnoea rates had almost doubled over the last 20 years, with the Sleep Apnoea Trust estimating that 10 million people in the UK have it. And guess what? Women are the most likely to go undiagnosed.

Sleep-disordered breathing

Evaluate for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). If OSA is found, this should be treated (e.g., with CPAP therapy).

The Silent Threat of Sleep Apnea: Why Ignoring Symptoms Can Be Dangerous

Sleep apnea is more than just a noisy nuisance that disrupts your sleep; it's a serious health condition with far-reaching consequences. While snoring may be its most recognizable symptom, the effects of untreated sleep apnea extend well beyond restless nights. If left unaddressed, the sleep disorder can trigger a host of health problems that can shorten your lifespan and diminish your quality of life.

Treating sleep apnoea can improve memory in people with cognitive decline

The sleep fragmentation, as well as the drops in blood oxygen at night time, are a double blow in dementia risk. Studies have shown sleep apnoea to be associated with a 26% increase in the development of cognitive impairment, as well as greater amounts of beta-amyloid in the brain. However, it is not clear if treating sleep apnoea could reduce this risk.

We’re Not Lazy

We live in a fast-paced world. We are constantly being judged and valued based on our output. However, when dealing with a sleep disorder, our output is diminished. We can’t perform at our peak when our tank is not replenished at night. I dealt with this stigma, especially during my college years. I would always be fighting to stay awake during class. Unfortunately falling asleep became commonplace for me.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

There are two types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea, also called OSA, happens when your upper airway becomes blocked many times while you sleep. The blockage can reduce or completely stop airflow. This is the most common type of sleep apnea. Factors such as obesity, large tonsils, or changes in your hormone levels can narrow your airway. Any of these factors could increase your risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain does not send the signals needed to breathe. Health conditions that affect how your brain controls your airways and chest muscles can cause central sleep apnea.

What to Do if You Have Sleep Apnea

CPAP machines, Sullivan soon learned, have their limits. “Many people can’t use them,” he says. “There’s a lot of individuality with sleep apnea.” Advances are helping people use CPAP more effectively and providing alternatives. Here are the most promising approaches, according to experts.

Resources

5 Facts About Sleep Apnea That Might Surprise You

You likely already know the basics about sleep apnea, such as how it causes your breathing to repeatedly pause throughout the night or how it’s often associated with loud snoring. But do you really have the full picture of this potentially dangerous problem?

9 Signs You Might Have Sleep Apnea

We all like to believe we don't snore and get defensive when we're accused of it—who, me? No way, never. But snoring is one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea, a serious condition that you definitely shouldn't just brush off and ignore.

Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is characterized by a lack of drive to breathe during sleep, resulting in repetitive periods of insufficient ventilation and compromised gas exchange. These nighttime breathing disturbances can lead to important comorbidity and increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. There are several manifestations of CSA, including high altitude-induced periodic breathing, idiopathic CSA, narcotic-induced central apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and Cheyne-Stokes breathing.