I have serious sleeping problems. I’m ALWAYS tired and usually sleep through the alarm, and when I wake up, I don’t even feel “awake.” I think I might have sleep apnea, but how can I know for sure? Do I just film myself sleeping?
How Can You Tell If You Have Sleep Apnea?
I think it would be helpful to film yourself sleeping. Don’t make the mistake of trying to hold the camera yourself though. You will need a tripod.
You would need to have a sleep study done. Some signs to look for are, waking up gasping for air, snoring is the big one, if you sleep with somebody have them listen for you to stop breathing while you are sleeping. Something that happened to me and I did not understand it while it was happening was, I kept having a reoccurring dream that I was swimming under water and I was running out of air, but I could not make it to the surface in time to have to take a breath. I would always take a breath under water, but could not understand how I could breath underwater. Yes it was a weird dream, but since I have been on my CPAP machine, I have not had this dream. I felt the same way you did, always tired, falling asleep while driving or watching TV. Now I sleep great, I wake up feeling ready to go and no longer fall asleep during the middle of the day.
Good luck and call your doctor right away and get the process going.
you can tell if you have sleep apnea if
you snore
have headache or fatigue when waking
have a bad taste in the mouth and foul breath on waking
and if you have daytime drowsiness
you can prevent sleep apnea by
lose surplus weight for a fatty tongue is a major windpipe blocker
avoid sleeping on your back
use a specially designed oral vestibular shield- a shaped plastic device which promotes breathing through the nose by effectively blocking the mouth
CAUTION
sleep apnea has been linked to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack
seek medical help if the condition persists
***wild olive oil with sunflower oil, peppermint and almond and sesame has been used to fight snoring***
***a ioniser will help to purify the air and may enable the sleeper to breathe more easily***
You need to go to your doctor. He/she will schedule you for a sleep test. I would check this out quickly. My co-worker was in an automobile accident before she knew she had it. Thank God she was O.K. and thank God they did that test. If you do have it they usually have you sleep with an oxygen mask. Apparently it’s awkward at first but it makes a big difference. Good luck!
You need to have a sleep study done. Your GP can write you a referral, do it soon!
I think it would be helpful to film yourself sleeping. Don’t make the mistake of trying to hold the camera yourself though. You will need a tripod.
BTW I love your blog!