How Do I Know If I Have Sleep Apnoea?

Night after night of interrupted sleep will leave anyone feeling exhausted. Sleep apnoea is a medical disorder affecting almost 5% of the Australian population, and if left untreated can contribute to high blood pressure, weight gain, headaches and other illness. An “apnoea” is when you stop breathing in your sleep and wake up momentarily. By the time morning comes, when you should be feeling refreshed, you are feeling more tired than when you lay down.

A common side effect of sleep apnoea is loud snoring and so it often also disrupts the sleep of our loved ones too. Besides complaints from your spouse, how do you know if you have it?

Sleep Apnoea Self-assessment

There are two simple quizzes you can take that indicate whether you may have a sleep disorder.

  1. Epworth Sleepiness Test
    This measures how likely you are to doze off in certain situations. If you receive a higher than average result you may have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea.
  2. STOP-BANG
    This quiz looks at your behaviours and risk factors to determine how likely you are to have obstructive sleep apnoea.

You can take these tests online, or come in and see us and our Sleep Apnoea Specialists will take you through it, and tell you what the results mean.

Sleep Study

If these tests indicate that you may have a sleep disorder, the next step is to undergo a sleep study (“polysomnography”). This involves fitting you with a mask and lending you equipment which monitors oxygen, heart rate and breathing. Our Sleep Apnoea Specialists guide you through this, and you can do it in the comfort of your own home.

In certain cases your GP may give you a referral to spend a night at a sleep lab, where you stay overnight hooked up to equipment which does the same.

Luckily, once you have a diagnosis there are a number of successful ways to treat it.

Chapman & Wood Chemist have a number of Sleep Apnoea Specialists in the team who are able to talk through your test results and provide tools and solutions to improve your sleep. We have a range of CPAP machines available and will look at your holistic health to help you get the solid sleep you need.

Come in and have a chat if you are concerned about your sleep health.

Chapman & Wood