Healthy Africa 101 is a section on Qwenu! dedicated to presenting important health and wellness topics in an easy to understand manner towards promoting a healthy and informed African continent.

So why should you care about snoring?

Well, in most cases, snoring doesn’t amount to much – except disturbing your spouse or roommate(s) at night. This used to be the simplistic explanation until we recognized that some people while snoring or sleeping could have transient cessations in breathing.

During these short spells of not breathing (a.k.a. apnea), the brain receives less oxygen. Ever notice a roommate or spouse stop breathing while they are sleeping, almost as if they are holding their breath – if yes, you witnessed a case of apnea. Sometimes this may also manifest as gasping while sleeping.

So how does apnea occur when sleeping?

While sleeping the muscles of the throat relax and in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, these relax muscles may block off the entry of oxygen to the lungs.

We know that the brain can do fine without oxygen for a few minutes, so thankfully, these spells of apnea, are very short lived. However, if you have repetitive spells of apnea especially at night, your brain gets deprived of oxygen-rich blood flow which can have long term effects.

Remember, this can happen on a nightly basis if you have this problem. In addition, humans spend at least a quarter of their lives sleeping. That is a lot of time depriving the brain of blood flow.

It is important to emphasize that you can be a loud snorer without having obstructive sleep apnea. In the same vein, you may have minimal snoring but have really bad obstructive sleep apnea.


So what factors increase the risk of cessation of breathing during sleep?

1. Obesity: being overweight increases the risk of sleep apnea, especially if you have a pot belly.

2. Having a thick neck

3. Gender: men are more likely to have sleep apnea.

4. Increasing age

5. Tobacco and alcohol use

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

1. Snoring

2. Headaches, especially in the morning

3. Tiredness during the day

4. Daytime sleepiness

5. Poor attention

6. Mood changes including irritability

What complications can you have from untreated sleep apnea?

1. Hypertension: high blood pressure may develop or may become more difficult to treat.

2. Diabetes: people with sleep apnea are likely to be overweight.

3. Fatigue: poor sleep can lead to poor performance during the day. In people whose jobs require concentration, e.g. drivers, the risk of accidents and subsequent death may be higher.

4. Heart disease: uncontrolled sleep apnea can lead to an increase in the pressure in your lungs which can affect the heart.

5. Strokes

6. Death: sleep apnea increases your risk of sudden death or death from heart disease. Death from heart disease is reported to be more than 5 times higher in people with sleep apnea.

7. Shorter life span

8. A poorly rested, often irritated, spouse or roommate

What to do if you have excessive snoring or sleep apnea? https://qwenu.com/2019/01/15/healthy-africa-101-how-snoring-in-your-sleep-and-apnea-can-increase-your-risk-of-death/