If you still feel exhausted after a whole night’s sleep, sleep apnea—not just simple sleep deprivation—might be the cause. Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep due to a narrowed airway. Even if you believe you’ve slept soundly, the quality of your rest may be severely compromised, leaving you fatigued the next day.
This condition is more than a bad sleep habit. The repeated interruptions in airflow prompt the brain to respond as if it’s facing a crisis, briefly waking you up. As a result, deep and restful sleep becomes difficult to achieve.
Left untreated, sleep apnea can seriously impact your daily life, leading to symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness, reduced concentration, chronic fatigue, and even narcolepsy. Over time, it can increase the risk of more serious health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.
Both genetic and acquired factors can contribute to sleep apnea. Obesity, aging, and nasal congestion can all narrow the airway.
People with naturally narrow airways are particularly at risk. While a typical airway diameter is about 0.4 to 0.6 inches (10–15 mm), those with sleep apnea may have airways less than 0.3 inches (7 mm) wide. These symptoms might go unnoticed during the day but can worsen significantly when lying down.
Given the complexity of sleep apnea, proper diagnosis and treatment require a comprehensive medical evaluation. Sleep clinics typically use polysomnography and 3D CT scans to monitor biological signals during sleep and assess airway structure.
Polysomnography is especially important in distinguishing sleep apnea from other disorders such as sleepwalking, narcolepsy, and simple snoring.
Physicians use the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) to determine severity. An RDI under 5 is considered normal, 5–15 is mild, 15–30 is moderate, and over 30 is classified as severe. The RDI also helps evaluate treatment effectiveness by comparing results before and after treatment.
Treatment options depend on the severity of the condition. Mild cases can often be managed through lifestyle changes such as weight loss, adjusting sleep position, or treating nasal congestion. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy or airway expansion surgery may be necessary for moderate to severe cases.
Dr. Lee Jong Woo, director of the Sleep Clinic, explained, “Patients with sleep apnea experience severe airway narrowing when lying down, making it extremely difficult to breathe. This keeps the brain in a constant state of alertness, depriving the entire body of oxygen. Without intervention, this cycle can lead to life-threatening complications affecting the brain and heart. Early diagnosis and timely treatment are essential.”
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