sleep apnoea and lung cancer<\/a>, though this is still being explored.<\/p>\nIts connection to numerous health problems is part of the reason Dr Ahmed said that if sleep\u00a0apnoea goes untreated it can knock 10 to 14 years off your lifespan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the impact of sleep\u00a0apnoea on a person’s health couldn’t be understated and it could act as barrier to successfully treating other conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘It is so significant, it really messes with your metabolism,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘If it’s undiagnosed and untreated, nothing we do therapeutically is going to work.’<\/p>\n
Despite the dangers, Dr Ahmed said sleep\u00a0apnoea often remains hidden particularly among single people, as it is often partners who spot it first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘They complain of loud snoring or recognise anionic episodes (periods where a person stops breathing) while the other person is sleeping,’ he said.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, he added that there are now simple test kits that can be used at home to tell if a person had the condition within days.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
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‘I urge everyone whose got chronic fatigue or are feeling tired all the time or can’t lose weight to really get checked for sleep apnoea,’ he said.<\/p>\n
While sleep\u00a0apnoea has multiple types the most common is called\u00a0obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).<\/p>\n
This where the walls of the throat relax and narrow or close during sleep, limiting the flow of oxygen into the body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response the brain instinctively pulls a person out of deep sleep to get more oxygen.<\/p>\n
This leads to significant sleep interruptions and as a consequence exhaustion in daily life and additionally\u2014in the longer term\u2014an increased risk of serious health problems.<\/p>\n
Almost 4million people in the UK are estimated to have moderate or severe OSA, although it is considered to be under-diagnosed and could affect up to 10million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Causes of sleep apnoea vary but include obesity leading to more tissue on the neck, smoking and drinking as well as having large tonsils.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most obvious symptoms of\u00a0sleep apnoea are the aforementioned snoring and breathing interruptions noticed by partners.<\/p>\n
Individuals themselves may notice they wake up a lot in the night and feel exhausted during the day, suffer concentration problems at work or school, have mood swings or have a headache upon waking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The NHS encourages anyone with signs of sleep apnoea to contact their GP due to its links to serious health problems and the impact it can have on a patient’s life.<\/p>\n
Diagnosis is usually done through special kits that measure breathing rate and heartbeat which can often be worn at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Data from the kit is then analysed to see if a patient does have\u00a0sleep apnoea and if so, how severe it is.<\/p>\n
Treatment can involve wearing mechanical masks that pump fresh air into the nose and mouth as a patient sleeps or surgery to open the airways more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, some low-tech methods like taping a tennis-ball to your back to encourage you to sleep on your side\u2014which can help with sleep apnoea\u2014can also be tried.<\/p>\n
Regardless, medics urge patients not to self-diagnose and seek help from their GP if they have symptoms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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