Do you know the signs that you, or a loved one, might have sleep apnea?

The number one sign is snoring. Now, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea but almost everyone with sleep apnea snores. This snoring is loud, persistent and no amount of poking and prodding from your bed partner will make it stop. If your spouse has moved into a bedroom on the other side of the house just to get some sleep then you might want to get screened for sleep apnea.

Another sign of sleep apnea is pauses in breathing during sleep. If you visit the YouTube site and search for “sleep apnea” you can see videos of sleep apnea patients who stop breathing. After the oxygen levels in the body drop because no air is coming in, the body signals the sleeper to briefly waken, gasp for air, and go back to sleep. These stopppages of breath and gasping may have been witnessed by your bed partner.

All American’s are tired but sleep apnea patients are really tired. Excessive daytime sleepiness is a sign of sleep apnea. This excessive daytime sleepines causes a greatly increased risk of accidents and a large number of car crashes each year are caused by drowsy driving. If you find yourself falling asleep during the day while sitting in a meeting or at a stoplight you need to be screened for a sleep disorder.

Please contact Columbus sleep apnea dentist Dr. Mark Levy today at 614-476-6696 to schedule your consultation.