Contributed by Dr Jeeve Kanagalingam, ENT Specialist. This simple question is not a test of your marital bliss. Rather, this is a question to gauge the severity of a snoring problem. Very often, he or she (yes, women snore too!) is banished to a separate room. Snoring, albeit being an annoying issue, is nothing to be ashamed of. It is however, something you might need to worry about. The real killer among snorers is not the noise, but the silence – that’s when breathing stops. People with sleep apnea stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer multiple times during the night. Often they start choking, wake up briefly, then start breathing or snoring once again as they fall right back into sleep. Watch this video to find out what severe sleep apnea sounds like1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFTcmREtqQ This cycle of breath-holding, choking, and brief awakening occurs over and over again, causing severe disruption of sleep. This means poor sleep quality, which causes lethargy and sleepiness during the day. Over time, this will lead to serious health problems. So, if you snore, show this article to your partner, and ask him or her to listen out for the silent apneas when breathing stops. Seek medical treatment early, and stop sleep apnea from killing you softly as you sleep!
If you would like to undergo a sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea for yourself or your loved ones, contact us at +65 6679 7867 or email customercare@tmcg.com.sg. 1 Special thanks to David Morefield of http://fluffyshotme.com for the use of his video in this article.