Around half of all men and around 30% of all women snore. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea but it can be a key symptom of it.
Snoring loudly could be an indication of sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep, you gasp for air or make loud noises from your mouth or throat during sleep
People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have repeated episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the throat during sleep. Major signs of sleep apnea are where a person stops breathing for seconds to over a minute so that’s something that warrants further investigation.
Having a life partner listen to your breathing while sleeping is a good place to start to determine how serious the issue is and how frequently they stop breathing or how often they have what’s medically termed as an “event”.
The AHI or Apnea Hypopnea Index is the number of times you have apnea or hypopnea during one night, divided by the hours of sleep;
- Normal sleep: An AHI of fewer than five events, on average, per hour
- Mild sleep apnea: An AHI of five to 14 events per hour
- Moderate sleep apnea: An AHI of 15 to 29 events per hour
- Severe sleep apnea: An AHI of 30 or more events per hour
In most cases of severe sleep apnea a Doctor will recommend CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) Therapy. With mild to moderate sleep apnea they may offer alternative solutions. If you have sleep apnea, or suspect that you have sleep apnea, you should speak with your Doctor, Sleep Specialist or Pharmacist.
