Do you always wake up tired and not refreshed?

Do you wake up sometimes with headaches? Do you feel fatigued and sleep a lot during the day- napping at work or when driving/chatting with friends? Are people saying you get angry easily or have ‘changed’?Lots of questions right? Sorry, I have more questions still!

Are you on the big side? I mean are you overweight or obese? Do you have a big belly/tummy? What about your neck size, is your neck circumference greater than 40 cm?

One last question if you don’t mind: Do You Snore?

You may have to ask a roommate really, most people who snore are not aware that they do!

If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, then I may just know why you are always tired.

Medically, it is called the Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS)

Big, long name, right? Don’t worry about the name. The disease simply means the LACK OF GOOD QUALITY SLEEP and that may be your problem.

People with OSAHS often sleep a lot but the sleep is not satisfactory. They snore, they snort and jerk. Sometimes they even stop breathing for a while only to jerk and start breathing again often with loud snores.

There is a genetic component to this problem and about 35% of people with this problem would have noticed the same problem in their parents or siblings.

Certain behaviours like drinking alcohol at night, the use of sleeping pills and smoking should be stopped if you want to get better.

If you like sleeping flat without pillows or raising your head, you might want to change that as raising your head will help you sleep better. People with allergy issues and nasal congestion should get these treated quickly because it can make the problem worse.

Sometimes people with OSAHS don’t have any of the problems listed earlier. The problem they have has to do with abnormalities of their facial or upper airway structures like enlarged tonsils or adenoids; a big tongue or narrow space in the nose for air to pass through.

You should see a doctor and discuss these symptoms with him/her. Don’t keep on managing day after day. These things are treatable and guess what? If you don’t treat this condition, it may lead to problems like Hypertension, Heart Disease, Sudden Heart Attack, Stroke and Diabetes Mellitus.

What’s more, there is proof that many road accidents are caused by people with OSAHS. It also affects your ability to be smart and productive at work.

Your doctor would send you for a recording of your sleep at a sleep center. It is called a Polysomnography. Some patients do well when they lose weight and stop all other behaviours listed earlier that are counterproductive to their health.

The use of a CPAP remains the treatment of choice for most. Your doctor will work out the modalities for you.