The Link Between Fatigue and Sleep Apnea

People often associate sleep apnea with loud snoring or choking and gasping during sleep. However, there’s another very common sign of this condition — and it occurs during your waking hours.

Fatigue.

But why?

Dr. Vandana Kumra offers sleep apnea services at her ENT practice in New York City.

In this blog post, Dr. Kumra explains the link between sleep apnea and fatigue and why you shouldn’t ignore this common symptom.

Sleep apnea basics

Sleep apnea means you stop and start breathing repeatedly while sleeping. These episodes, known as “apneas,” vary in severity.

There are also different forms of sleep apnea, but they all trigger the same symptoms, such as:

• Loud snoring
• Gasping, snorting, or choking for air while sleeping
• Waking with a dry mouth or headache
• Struggling to stay asleep
• Daytime irritability
• Problems paying attention or focusing while awake

It can also cause excessive daytime fatigue or sleepiness.

Sleep apnea and fatigue

The problem with having apneas while sleeping is that they lower the oxygen level in your blood. And, when your brain senses your inability to breathe, it wakes you up to reopen the airway.

However, this waking moment is often so brief you don’t even realize it happened.

Having a single waking moment while asleep probably wouldn’t cause much problem. However, when you have sleep apnea, it occurs over and over again, which makes restorative sleep impossible.

As a result, people with untreated sleep apnea often struggle throughout the day with drowsiness, fatigue, concentration, and irritability. It can even increase your chances of workplace and motor vehicle accidents.

Unfortunately, this condition can also put your health at risk. People with unmanaged sleep apnea have higher chances of heart problems, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver problems, and complications from medications and surgery.

If you fall asleep throughout the day, it’s important to see an expert like Dr. Kumra to see if sleep apnea is to blame.

Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea

As an ENT, Dr. Kumra starts her sleep apnea assessments by examining the neck and throat. 

In many cases, this involves an endoscopy so she can evaluate internal structures for narrowing or other issues that interfere with breathing.

Based on her assessment, Dr. Kumra could also order a sleep study to measure vital information, such as heart rate, respiration, and more, while you sleep.

After diagnosing sleep apnea, Dr. Kumra can recommend various treatment strategies. One common treatment involves a CPAP device. These continuous positive airway pressure machines deliver a constant stream of air while you sleep, keeping your airway open.

However, Dr. Kumra could also suggest surgery if she detects structural issues triggering your symptoms.

Once you undergo treatment for sleep apnea, you can expect your daytime sleepiness to become a thing of the past as you reclaim those restorative Zzzs.

Are you struggling with daytime fatigue? Call or request an appointment online to schedule a sleep apnea assessment with Vandana Kumra, MD, in New York City.