Men, if your significant other tells you that you snore so loudly that he or she can’t sleep, then please read this post. You may have a life threatening condition called sleep apnea. This term may sound complicated, but it’s really not. Sleep apnea is “…a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. You may have sleep apnea if you snore loudly and you feel tired even after a full night’s sleep” (MayoClinic.com).
I am convinced my husband has sleep apnea. He snores so loudly that he wakes our daughter from a sound sleep, and she has the room one story below our bedroom! Â I have also counted the number of seconds that he has quit breathing. The longest has been over 30 seconds. Â Seriously? Half a minute without taking a breath? That scares me, and it should scare him.
Yet, when I tell  him each morning that he stopped breathing repeatedly throughout the night, he brushes it off.  He just can’t seem to believe that he is in danger. He thinks he has had a good night’s sleep, but has he really?
There is no denying, sleep apnea causes real health problems. Â The “sudden drops in blood oxygen levels that occur during sleep apnea increase blood pressure and strain the cardiovascular system. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, your risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) is greater than if you don’t. The more severe your sleep apnea, the greater the risk of high blood pressure. However, obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of stroke, regardless of whether or not you have high blood pressure. If there’s underlying heart disease, these multiple episodes of low blood oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) can lead to sudden death from a cardiac event” (Mayo Clinic).
As this information from the Mayo clinic shows, sleep apnea is a dangerous health condition. It can seriously harm you. Â It can even take your life.
Sleep apnea needs to be addressed.  Listen to your significant other when he or she says you snore so loudly the windows rattle. Listen when you are told that you quit breathing for long periods. Talk to your physician about your snoring.  It may be more serious than you think, a matter of life and death. I keep working on my husband to address this problem. Maybe he’ll listen before he suffers a stroke, or worse.
Quick List of Sleep Apnea Symptoms
*Loud snoring. A person may wake himself up with the noise.
*Periods where breathing stops, as long as 30 seconds or more.
*Gasping for breath during sleep.
*Tired, and worn out after a night’s sleep.
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