Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

This section provides detailed information on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea - simply click of any of these headings:

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea?
What causes Obstructive Sleep Apnoea?
Who Gets Sleep Apnoea?
Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Health Risks of Sleep Apnoea
Do you need help?
Sleep Services Australia can help to diagnose OSA
More Information

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a serious and potentially life threatening condition characterised by:

1. Repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep due to collapse of the upper airway,
2. Usually accompanied by a reduction in oxygen levels in the blood, and
3. Followed by an awakening in an attempt to breathe.

           Normal airway                                      Obstructed airway

1. Obstruction of the upper airway occurs when the muscles of the upper airway (including the tongue and soft palate) become too relaxed, either narrowing significantly, or completely blocking the airway, and preventing breathing.
2. This leads to snoring and breathing difficulties.
3. Breathing often stops for more than 10 seconds.
4. The brain then reacts to stopping breathing, and alerts the body to wake up or move to a lighter level of sleep. /li>
5. In most cases, the sufferer will be unaware of this. 
6. However, as this can happen several hundred times during the night, it is enough to fragment sleep, causing the sufferer to feel sleepy and lethargic the next day.

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People most likely to have or develop sleep apnoea include people who have these symptoms:

• If you snore loudly,
• If you are overweight,
• If you have high blood pressure,
• If you have heart rhythm abnormalities, or
• If you have some physical abnormality in the nose, throat, or other parts of the upper airway.

Other risk factors include:

• Being male (it is probably under-diagnosed in women),
• Genetic predisposition - Sleep apnoea seems to run in some families,
• Smoking - If you want to quit smoking, please visit Quit for more information - www.quit.org.au, and
• Alcohol use.

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• Choking or gasping during sleep,
• Loud, repetitive snoring,
• Recurrent awakenings overnight,
• Unrefreshing sleep, so you feel like you have not slept at all when you wake up,
• Excessive daytime sleepiness and tiredness - if you notice that you are dozing during the day, or have had unexplained road accidents or work accidents - Click Here to download the Epworth Sleepiness Scale
• Impaired concentration or decreased memory.

 Early recognition and treatment of sleep apnoea is critical because it leads to an increase risk for other medical conditions, including:

• Cardiovascular problems - these include irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes (1)
• Sexual problems - impotence has been shown to have a direct link with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (2)
• Depression (3)
• Headaches and morning headaches (4)

 Sleep Apnoea is also directly linked with excessive sleepiness, which may cause:

• Higher rate of workplace accidents and road accidents - Click Here to go to our Occupational Health & Safety section for more information;
• Significantly reduced quality of life - including decreased memory, and personality or mood changes.

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If you experience any of the following symptoms, please make an appointment to discuss these problems with your doctor:

• Tiredness or sleepiness during the day - Click Here to go to our self-evaluation tool, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, to check if you are suffering from Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, which is an indicator of Sleep Apnoea,
• If you experience loud snoring or pauses in breathing during sleep (of if your partner notices that you seem to stop breathing during sleep),
• If your partner comments that you sound like you are choking or gasping during sleep; or
• If you experience any other sleeping difficulties - such as difficulty sleeping/insomnia, or restless legs.

Sleep disorders are treatable, and your doctor can evaluate your sleep problems with a sleep study:

• You may be referred to Sleep Services Australia for a sleep study to diagnose any sleep disorders and for a consultation with our Sleep Physicians.
• Click Here to go to our OSA Treatment page or Click Here to download a PDF Fact Sheet.
• We can also arrange CPAP Treatment for patients diagnosed with OSA - Click Here to go to our section on CPAP Treatment.

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If you have symptoms of Fatigue or Sleep Apnoea:

• Make an appointment with your doctor if you snore or believe that you have Sleep Apnoea, or suffer from Excessive Daytime Sleepiness. Your Doctor may refer you to our Sleep Physicians for assessment and management.
• Take the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, a self-evaluation questionnaire, to see if you may have excessive daytime sleepiness - Click here to go to this questionnaire.
• For general questions about our services, complete our Online Query Form (Click Here) or e-mail your contact details to query@sleepservicesaustralia.com.au;
• Telephone us on 1300 867 533 (for the cost of a local call) for more information.
• For medical enquiries about your sleep behaviour, or to discuss you Sleep Study results, please contact your referring Doctor.

• PleaseClick Here to download a PDF Fact Sheet on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
• Click Here to download a Fact Sheet on Treatment Options for Sleep Apnoea.

To view (pdf) files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here for download or more information.

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(1) Elwood, et al "Sleep disturbance, stroke, and heart disease events: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort" Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2006;60:69-73. 

(2) Schroder and O'Hara "Depression and Sleep Apnea" Annals of General Psychiatry 2005, 4:13. 

(3) Gonclaves, et al "Erective Dysfunction, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and nasal CPAP treatment"  Sleep MedicineVol.6, Issue 4,  July 2005, Pages 333-339. 

(4) See J-P Neau, J Paquereau, M Bailbe, J-C Meurice, P Ingrand, R Gil (2002) "Relationship between sleep apnoea syndrome, snoring and headaches"  Cephalalgia 22 (5), 333–339.

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Please Note: The information on this page is intended to be used as a guide only and is not an authoritative statement. Please consult your family doctor or sleep  physician if you have further questions relating to the information provided here.

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