7 Signs You Might Have Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common of the sleep disorders. About 40% of Canadians will experience a sleep disorder during their lifetime. Did you know that one in four Canadians is at high risk for having obstructive sleep apnea — and most of those at risk are not screened for OSA? With an estimated 80% of cases going undiagnosed, many people are unaware that a sleep disorder is the underlying cause of their health problems.
Key takeaways
- The 7 most common warning signs of sleep apnea are loud snoring, pauses in breathing, constant tiredness, morning headaches, high blood pressure, being overweight, and irritability or mood changes.
- An estimated 80% of sleep apnea cases go undiagnosed, and 1 in 4 Canadians is at high risk for OSA.
- Sleep apnea is easily diagnosed with a home sleep test, and treatment with CPAP therapy is highly effective.
- Left untreated, sleep apnea raises the risk of heart failure, arrhythmias, GERD, diabetes, stroke and heart attacks.
So, what is apnea?
Sleep apnea is characterized by frequent breaks or pauses in breathing during sleep. There are 3 forms of sleep apnea:
- Central sleep apnea (CSA) — in which the pauses are due to the brain failing to signal the respiratory system to breathe.
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — in which breathing is interrupted by a physical blockage in the upper airways, often caused by soft tissues of the throat and tongue collapsing into the airway.
- Complex / mixed sleep apnea — which is a combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.
Severity is measured by the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) — the average number of times your breathing stops or becomes shallow per hour of sleep. A sleep test gives you this number, which guides treatment.
| Severity | Events per hour | What it typically means |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Fewer than 5 | No clinically significant apnea. |
| Mild | 5 – 15 | Symptoms like snoring and some daytime tiredness. |
| Moderate | 15 – 30 | Noticeable daytime sleepiness; treatment usually recommended. |
| Severe | More than 30 | Significant health risk; treatment strongly advised. |
1 Snoring
Loud, chronic, nightly snoring is the single most common warning sign of sleep apnea — though snoring on its own doesn't confirm the disorder.
Loud, chronic snoring is one of the most frequently cited symptoms of sleep apnea. Snoring is the sound produced by vibrations in the upper respiratory airways during sleep. It is caused by partial blockage or obstructions as air is being restricted from moving easily through the airways. Many people who snore may not even be aware that they do so and are only alerted to it by an annoyed bed partner whose sleep is disturbed due to the loud noises coming from the other side of the bed.
While snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, it doesn't necessarily indicate that the person has the disorder. Many people who snore don't have sleep apnea, and some people with sleep apnea don't snore. However, if your snoring is loud, disruptive, and occurs on a nightly basis, it could very well be a sign of sleep apnea. At Apnée Santé, we can help you — sleep apnea is easily diagnosed with a home sleep test.
2 Frequent breaks or pauses in breathing
Repeated pauses in breathing during sleep — often noticed by a bed partner — are a hallmark of sleep apnea, occurring 5 to 30 (or more) times an hour.
In obstructive sleep apnea, the fatty tissues of the throat or tongue become relaxed during sleep and fall back into your airways, which restricts airflow and causes you to stop breathing for a few seconds. During an apnea event, the oxygen levels in your blood drop. This causes your brain to wake itself from sleep long enough to jump-start your respiratory system into working properly again and get air past the blockage.
While your brain partially wakes up to respond to the interruption in breathing, you still remain mostly asleep without realizing that you partially awoke. But while you may not realize that you frequently wake during sleep, the constant interruptions have a negative impact on the amount and quality of sleep you get, which leads to many of the other symptoms on this list. Apnea events can occur anywhere between 5 to 30 times in an hour, lasting up to 10–20 seconds at a time. Those with severe obstructive sleep apnea can experience hundreds of apnea events a night. If you've been told that you frequently stop breathing in your sleep, it's time to talk with your doctor or schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist.
3 You're tired all the time
Persistent daytime fatigue despite a full night in bed is a key sign of sleep apnea — the constant micro-awakenings rob you of restorative sleep.
While you may think you got plenty of sleep during the night because you were in bed for 7–9 hours overnight, all of those pauses and interruptions to your sleep add up to a lot of lost time in quality and quantity of nightly sleep. One of the most common (but frequently overlooked) symptoms of sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). EDS is characterized by a chronic feeling of overwhelming daytime fatigue.
Common symptoms of EDS are: difficulty waking in the mornings, feeling excessively tired all day long, a general lack of energy, needing or taking frequent naps that only partially (or not at all) relieve symptoms, dozing off at inappropriate times, and difficulty concentrating, among others. Daytime drowsiness can even lead to serious accidents or even death, especially if the sufferer is driving or working on or around heavy equipment or machines.
4 You frequently wake with headaches
Morning headaches are a frequent sign of sleep apnea, caused by drops in blood oxygen overnight that widen blood vessels in the brain.
Headaches are commonly reported by sufferers of sleep apnea. As you stop breathing frequently during the night, less oxygen is making its way to your brain. Low oxygen levels initiate the widening of blood vessels and can cause vascular headaches. Along with excessive daytime drowsiness, headaches are usually the symptoms that sleep apnea sufferers complain the most about, as they may not be aware that they have symptoms of snoring or breaks in breathing.
5 You have high blood pressure
High blood pressure is strongly linked to sleep apnea — repeated overnight oxygen drops force your body to constrict blood vessels, and over time that elevated pressure persists by day.
Hypertension is commonly linked to sleep apnea. For the same reasons you experience headaches due to frequent pauses during sleep, you can get high blood pressure. As your brain wakes from sleep when it realizes that it's not receiving adequate oxygen levels in the blood, it causes a spike in blood pressure as it restricts your blood vessels to kick-start your system into working again. When this happens repeatedly throughout the night to combat every apnea event, your body gets used to having to restrict its blood vessels, and high blood pressure begins to persist even during the day when you are breathing normally.
6 You are overweight or obese
Excess weight is a leading risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea — a neck circumference over 17 inches (men) or 16 inches (women) raises your risk.
In many cases a person's body weight is directly linked to having obstructive sleep apnea. People who are overweight or obese are more likely to have sleep apnea than those that maintain healthy weights. Sleep apnea can often be caused by excess fatty tissues that become built up in the neck and throat. The excess tissues can fall back into the airways during sleep, causing obstructions to the airways and leading to apnea events. If your neck circumference is greater than 17 inches for men or 16 inches for women, you have a higher risk of sleep apnea due to fatty tissue buildup surrounding your airways, which can cause restrictions in breathing during sleep.
7 You are often irritable, depressed, or experience mood swings
Irritability, anxiety, mood swings, and even depression can stem from the chronic poor sleep that apnea causes.
Lack of quality sleep can affect a person's mood. Losing sleep nearly every night can make you more irritable, prone to anxiety, short-tempered, and over a long enough time even depressed. If you think your mood swings or depression may be caused by a lack of sleep, contact your primary care physician to see if it's related to a sleep disorder.
How Apnée Santé can help
At Apnée Santé, we diagnose and treat thousands of cases of sleep apnea every year. Because treatment for sleep apnea through continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy or other alternative treatments is so effective, there's no reason to have to live with apnea or any of its debilitating symptoms. If you have experienced any of the previous symptoms, it may be time to contact a sleep specialist to schedule a sleep study.
Getting tested is easier than most people expect. Sleep apnea is most often diagnosed with a home sleep test you take in your own bed; more complex cases may use an in-lab sleep test. From there, our team guides you through your CPAP treatment journey step by step. We are the only private sleep clinic in Québec to offer every patient a consultation with a sleep doctor (respirologist) — and that consultation is covered by RAMQ. You can also check your insurance coverage before you start.
Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause a whole slew of medical problems and can put you at an increased risk for many health issues, including:
- Heart failure
- Arrhythmias
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Heart attacks
Frequently asked questions
What are the warning signs of sleep apnea?
The seven most common warning signs are: loud, chronic snoring; frequent pauses in breathing during sleep; feeling tired all the time (excessive daytime sleepiness); waking frequently with headaches; high blood pressure; being overweight or obese; and frequent irritability, depression, or mood swings.
How is sleep apnea diagnosed?
Sleep apnea is easily diagnosed with a home sleep test, where you take a device home and sleep in your own bed. For more complex cases, an in-lab sleep test may be recommended. At Apnée Santé, results are reviewed by a sleep specialist.
How many times a night does sleep apnea interrupt breathing?
Apnea events can occur anywhere between 5 to 30 times an hour, lasting up to 10–20 seconds at a time. People with severe obstructive sleep apnea can experience hundreds of apnea events a night.
What happens if sleep apnea is left untreated?
Untreated sleep apnea raises the risk of serious health problems, including heart failure, arrhythmias, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diabetes, stroke and heart attacks.
Does snoring always mean I have sleep apnea?
No. Many people who snore don't have sleep apnea, and some people with sleep apnea don't snore. However, if your snoring is loud, disruptive, and occurs nightly, it could be a sign of sleep apnea and is worth getting tested.
Can sleep apnea be cured?
Sleep apnea is usually managed rather than permanently cured, but treatment is highly effective at eliminating symptoms. CPAP therapy is the gold standard and works for most people. Weight loss, positional therapy, oral appliances, or surgery may also help depending on the cause and severity. Most patients feel dramatically better once treatment begins.
Is sleep apnea testing and treatment covered in Québec?
At Apnée Santé, the consultation with a sleep doctor (respirologist) is covered by RAMQ. The sleep test itself is paid by the patient or their private insurer. Many private insurance plans cover part or all of the test and CPAP equipment — you can check your coverage with us before you start.
Who should get tested for sleep apnea?
Consider a sleep test if you snore loudly and nightly, have been told you stop breathing in your sleep, feel tired despite a full night in bed, wake with headaches, or have high blood pressure, excess weight, or a large neck circumference. The more signs you recognize, the more worthwhile testing becomes.
Think you might have sleep apnea?
You don't have to live with the symptoms. Book a free sleep assessment and find out with a simple home sleep test.
Book a free assessment →Apnée Santé provides this online information for education and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published on this website is not intended to replace a consultation with a physician regarding your medical care. Apnée Santé disclaims any and all liability for injury or other damage that could result from the use of information obtained from this site.
