You don’t need me to tell you that getting a good night sleep is needed for you to remain productive all day. Your well-being highly depends on how much rest you get every night, and how nutritious your food is. But so many people are sleep-deprived because of breathing problems. If you snore and you often wake yourself up because of it, you might want to get checked for sleep apnea.

Over 90 percent of snorers may have breathing disorders during sleep. This may be the cause of listlessness during the day. Grogginess during the day and a cranky attitude may be the direct result of sleep apnea. More often than not, being sleep-deprived can also cause lower productivity at work, bad mood and poor driving skills. If you have this condition, you will be constantly moving around in your sleep because you just cannot find a good position for sleeping.

Another cause may be obstructive apnea, or sleep disordered breathing cue to blockage of the breathing passage by tonsils and adenoids. Waking yourself up in the middle of the night due to your strong snores is the least of your worries if you are afflicted with this condition. If your sleep apnea starts, blood oxygen level especially that in the brain declines due to the lack of breath. You may find yourself gasping for air in your sleep.

People with sleep apnea often feel fatigued during the day. Normally, they have blood-shot eyes and they cannot take power naps. Light sleepers may or may not have sleep apnea, but if they do, they should check it once and for all.

Falling in and out of a very light sleep several times during the night means you had trouble breathing during the time, and your body has to wake up so you can force air inside your lungs by gasping or coughing. It’s like having a cold all the time.

Sleep apnea can happen to most people, but it is said that people who are overweight are more prone to developing sleep apnea than others. Men are also more prone to sleep apnea than women. Snoring is not a sure sign of sleep apnea although almost all people who have sleep apnea snore at least once throughout the night.

You know you have sleep apnea if you feel sleepy during the day and you feel mild to severe chest pain when you wake up in the morning. Other symptoms include: restless tossing and turning during sleep, choking in the middle of the night and trouble memorizing simple things. Some people experience extreme anxiety and even undergo personality changes because of sleeplessness. They are also prone to morning headaches, heartburn and leg swelling.

Sleep apnea may put you at risk for hypertension, heart attack or stroke, not to mention work or driving related accidents. If sleep apnea is successfully treated, you will soon start sleeping better. You will also feel this huge burden lifted from you. You will calmly deal with problems and will become more positive in your outlook.