Sleep apnea is when you have pauses in breathing while you're asleep. These pauses can last from seconds to minutes. You may have difficulty breathing a few times or dozens of times an hour. These breathing pauses can be dangerous if they cause the oxygen level in your body to drop or disturb your sleep. When oxygen drops, your brain does whatever it can to get you to resume breathing. And then you may snore (打鼾), gasp, or make a choking sound.
Sleep apnea is a common disorder. Anyone can develop it. "Sleep apnea can occur in both sexes, in all races, and in people of all sizes and shapes," says Dr. Michael Twery, a sleep expert.
So, how can you tell whether you may have this disorder? One of the most common symptoms is excessive (过多的) daytime sleepiness. "Anyone who feels so tired on a regular basis — even if they allow enough time to get enough sleep on a regular basis and they still feel this way — needs to discuss it with their doctor," says Twery.
Another common symptom is loud, frequent snoring. But not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.
Other symptoms of sleep apnea may include feeling impatient or depressed, or having mood swings. You may have memory problems or trouble concentrating. Or, you may wake up with a headache or a dry mouth.
Your doctor can diagnose sleep apnea based on your symptoms. A sleep study, which records things like heart rate and oxygen level while you sleep, can show whether apnea is mild or severe. "The largest amount of the population with sleep apnea has mild sleep apnea," Twery explains. "Mild sleep apnea may or may not be associated with any daytime symptoms. People who are so sleepy that they're at risk of a driving accident are probably in the moderate (中等的) to severe range."
