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Sleep expert warns ‘80%’ of people living with serious disorder don’t know they have it
Did you know you could be living with a severe sleep disorder without even knowing it?
A sleep expert has revealed that a scary percentage of people are living with a serious condition unknowingly.
‘80%’ unknowingly living with severe sleep disorder
Speaking on Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO podcast, neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Guy Leschzine said that 80% of people in the UK who are living with sleep apnea don’t know that they have the condition.
This figure comes from a study by the Sleep Disorders Centre at St Thomas’ Hospital in the British Medical Journal.
Sleep apnea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep, the NHS reveals. The most common type is called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which the walls of the throat relax and narrow or close during sleep.
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This interrupts normal breathing, which can wake you up. However, as the disorder occurs while you sleep, many are living with it unknowingly, completely unaware that their breathing stops and starts again in the night.
“Your airway narrows, you have difficulty breathing. It partially obstructs your airways and you have recurrent brief awakenings, sometimes that you’re not aware of, that disrupt your sleep,” Leschzine explained.
Another study in the Nature Journal estimates that OSA affects 13% of men and 6% of women, making it a common condition. Middle-aged and older people have a higher risk of developing sleep apnea.
Symptoms of sleep apnea
As outlined by the NHS, symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Breathing stopping and starting
- Making gasping, snorting or choking noises
- Waking up a lot
- Loud snoring
During the day, you may also feel very tired, find it hard to concentrate, have mood swings and have a headache when you wake up.
However, it can be hard to tell if you have sleep apnea. Often, it’s someone who sleeps in the same bed who notices the symptoms.
Sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment
If a doctor suspects you have sleep apnea, you may be referred to a specialist sleep clinic for tests that check your breathing and heartbeat while you sleep.
You’ll be asked to wear devices overnight so doctors can check for signs of the sleep disorder. You can usually do this at home, but sometimes may need to stay in the clinic overnight.
The tests can show if you have sleep apnea and how severe it is by analyzing how often breathing stops while you sleep.
Sleep apnea can be treated with lifestyle changes in some cases, like losing weight, giving up smoking and reducing how much alcohol you drink.
However, many have to sleep with a mask called a CPAP machine that you wear over your mouth or nose. Air is gently pumped into the mask to improve your breathing.
Speak to a medical professional if you think you may have sleep apnea, who can provide further guidance.
Dr. Guy Leschzine is a consultant neurologist and sleep physician within the Department of Neurology and Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London. He sees patients with a range of sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnoea, and nocturnal epilepsy.
