Central sleep apnea is a medical condition wherein you will stop breathing multiple times every single time you fall asleep because of malfunctioning of the part of the brain which control breathing. It is a dangerous condition which if left un-treated can cause a number of other dangerous and potentially life threatening medical conditions. If you think you have central sleep apnea then consult your doctor immediately and get undergo some tests to check if you really have sleep apnea.
Symptoms of Central Sleep Apnea
Some of the common symptoms of central sleep apnea which people face are:
- Fatigue: Sleep apnea will prevent you from sleeping peacefully during the night. Thus when you wake up in the morning you will feel tired and sleepy throughout the day. Fatigue in this form is the most common symptom of sleep apnea.
- Insomnia: At times because you will wake up many times during a single night, you may think that you have insomnia. One of the most common mistakes doctors make is to diagnose a person with insomnia when he or she really has sleep apnea. This happens because most of the symptoms of the disease are similar.
- Headaches: Other than causing you to be tired during the day, the lack of sleep can manifest itself in the form of headaches at times.
- Concentration: The lack of sleep will cause many secondary problems such as a lack of concentration during the day. Thus you will not be able to focus on your studies or your job or driving for that matter.
- Irritability: When your body does not get enough rest, it will cause a change in your hormones. This change in your hormones will have an adverse effect on your mind and it will thus cause you to become irritated easily. Thus even at the slightest provocation you will get irritated by people and environment such as the weather and climate.
- Problems with memory: Lastly central sleep apnea because of the sleeplessness can cause problems in your memory. So you may find yourself forgetting small things such as where you placed the car keys etc.
Given above are the most common symptoms of central sleep apnea. While in isolation the symptoms do not point towards sleep apnea, if you notice that suddenly you have started to suffer from three or more of the above symptoms then consult your doctor immediately and get some tests done.
