Sleep apnoea is an insidious sleep disorder that makes you stop breathing while asleep. It exists in two main forms, both of which symptoms of sleep apnoea are similar: obstructive sleep apnoea, caused by a physical obstruction like enlarged tonsils or your tongue, and central sleep apnoea, caused by a neurological dysfunction.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea are insidious because nearly 90% of those with it have no idea they have it, even though they get up many times every night choking, because they do not remember these awakenings. There is always the prospect that when they stop breathing during their sleep, they could simply not start again.
The sufferer typically doesn’t notice his cessation of breathing during sleep, the majority only ever know they might have a disorder when their bed partner informs them of either or both major common symptoms of sleep apnoea: loud snoring, and the opposite, periodic silence through the insufficient breathing.
While the two main symptoms of sleep apnoea are loud snoring or periods without sound in the least, there are other symptoms, just like gasping or choking, waking up suddenly and violently, and daytime sleepiness even after sleeping all night. Once they know of these symptoms, the folks who want to get verified will undergo a one night stay on a sleep clinic under monitoring.
The key difference between the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea and central sleep apnoea is that central sleep apnoea sufferers tend never to snore. Snoring is caused by the physical obstruction of the airway, which is not the problem in central sleep apnoea, but rather a neurological problem causing the signal to breathe to get delayed during sleep.
Whether you suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea or the more deadly central sleep apnoea, the symptoms of sleep apnoea and the net result of either disorder is oxygen deprivation as a result of lack of breathing, and poor quality sleep due to the repeated episodes of awakening to restart breathing, giving you daytime tiredness.