Common Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea In Women

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder caused by airway obstruction. This results in issues breathing throughout the night. In sleep apnea, throat muscles relaxing causes the airway to collapse in on itself. Blocked nasal passages also contribute to sleep apnea! Conditions that block the nasal passages and make breathing difficult increase the risk of sleep apnea. These conditions include the common cold, a deviated septum, and allergies.

The amazing news is sleep apnea is treatable! The most popular treatment is CPAP for mild sleep apnea. There are also travel CPAP machines! Many also look to dental treatment for sleep apnea, as well as EMA sleep appliances. Before the best treatment for sleep apnea is determined, the condition must be identified!

Stop Breathing When Sleeping

Sleep apnea causes women to occasionally stop breathing during sleep. This is most commonly due to the throat muscles relaxing. Most of the time, this doesn’t make women wake up. Many aren’t even aware they stop breathing! Women find out they stop breathing occasionally while they sleep because their partner points it out to them. The fact they stop breathing at times does influence the quality of their sleep even when it doesn't wake them up. This influence shows up in several other symptoms of sleep apnea!

Excessive Sleepiness

Women with sleep apnea also display excessive sleepiness during the day. This means they find it hard to remain awake no matter what they’re doing. Excessive sleepiness is quite dangerous because women can fall asleep when driving or at other critical points during the day. Women dealing with excessive sleepiness will also display a lack of energy and ‘brain fog.’

Most women experience excessive sleepiness periodically throughout their lives. That said, those with sleep apnea will deal with this regularly over long periods. Yes, this means they will be overly tired even if they got enough sleep the night before! This is a prime example of how even though women won’t wake up due to the times they stop breathing at night, it still influences their sleep quality.

Dry Mouth

Women whose nose is blocked due to their sleep apnea experience dry mouth throughout the day. This is because when their nose is blocked, they breathe through their mouth. The air going in and out of the mouth causes saliva to dry up!

Mouth breathing due to sleep apnea is triggered in several ways. Temporary conditions like the common cold, flu, and allergies can block the nasal passages. As discussed, a deviated septum increases the risk of sleep apnea. This genetic condition causes chronic mouth breathing when women are asleep. Mouth breathing also results in another symptom of sleep apnea: snoring!