How Untreated Sleep Apnea Affects Your Daily Life
Recognizing How Untreated Sleep Apnea Affects Your Daily Life
Sleep apnea is a serious condition often misunderstood, where a person's breathing is repeatedly interrupted as they sleep. Its consequences go beyond sleep disturbances, especially if left unaddressed. Let's explore how the effects of sleep apnea can change your everyday life, focusing on physical, cognitive, social, and emotional wellness.
Physical Health
Sleep apnea repeatedly interrupts the sleep cycle, depleting oxygen in the blood and elevating heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, individuals often wake up feeling unrefreshed or with headaches and experience constant fatigue and drowsiness. These symptoms can render them unable to function normally at work or school.
This disorder can also curb sexual desire and performance, aggravate asthma symptoms, and cause abnormal cholesterol levels. More importantly, it can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of chronic, long-term health problems if left untreated, such as:
Cardiovascular Diseases
Diabetes
Hypertension
Liver Diseases
Metabolic Syndrome
Obesity
Stroke
Cognitive Function
Sleep apnea can impair your brain, from memory and mental sharpness to decision-making abilities. It leaves the mind foggy, impeding problem-solving skills and preventing people from staying alert during the day. Research shows that this sleeping disorder amplifies the risk of work and vehicle accidents and injuries due to reduced reaction time and attention, plus excessive tiredness and drowsiness.
Social and Emotional Wellness
When left unaddressed, the effects of sleep apnea can extend to mental and social well-being. The brain recuperates and regulates emotions effectively through deep, restful slumber. With sleep apnea interrupting sleeping patterns, individuals may experience headaches and fatigue after waking up, making them feel absentminded, anxious, or irritable throughout the day.
Combined with impaired cognitive abilities, these emotional fluctuations can interfere with social interactions and strain relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Over time, people with sleep apnea may find it hard to connect with others and feel lonely and misunderstood.
Don’t Let Sleep Apnea Take Control of Your Life
Sleep apnea doesn't simply make your nights restless—it makes your daily life more challenging in all aspects, from feeling too exhausted to work to having difficulty managing your mood. If you suspect you or a loved one has this condition, consider scheduling an assessment with Levata Sleep in Marquette, MI. We have the expertise and facilities to tailor treatment plans for sleep apnea.
Image credit: Lysenko Andrii // Shutterstock
