Obstructive sleep apnoea disorder

But if you routinely wake fatigued or "feeling terrible", a simple test could save your life, says Elaine McLemon.

Mrs McLemon manages the Healthy Sleep Solutions Mittagong clinic and has worked in the treatment of apnoea patients for nearly 20 years.

Obstructive sleep apnoea - repeated episodes of the airway closing during sleep due to lax muscles in and around the soft palate - is the disorder's most common form.

"Most people don't know if they're on their own," Mrs McLemon said. "It's usually the partner who initiates [an appointment] because they are the ones who notice."

Apnoea sufferers not only snore but repeatedly stop breathing as they sleep, then gasp or choke for air as chemical receptors in the brain respond and kick-start it awake.

Obstructive sleep apnoea

sufferers have higher risk of obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, Type 2 diabetes, mood disorders, and motor or industrial accidents.

A simple sleep test will not only diagnose the disorder, but will lead the sufferer to a relatively simple solution: a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) sleeping mask.

"Continuous positive air pressure pushes air through the airways all night while you sleep via a mask fitted to a machine," Mrs McLemon said. A sleep apnoea sufferer will need a referral from their GP to take home a sleep test unit. The unit includes an oxygen monitor, a nasal cannula, and an ECG for self-monitoring overnight.

The next morning, Mrs McLemon downloads the unit's data for a specialist who sends a report to her and the sufferer's GP to determine a further lab study and/or mask.

Obstructive sleep apnoea occurs in men and women equally, and is also prevalent in children. Mrs McLemon said those under 18 need to see a sleep paediatrician.

Continuous positive air pressure is the "gold standard" treatment, but mild cases can also be improved with lifestyle changes to diet, exercise and sleeping habits, she said.

Mrs McLemon said the modern sleeping masks were light and unobtrusive: "Once they get used to going to sleep with the mask on, they feel better the next day. They function better, their memory improves, they breathe better, they just have overall general wellbeing when using a continuous positive air pressure sleeping mask."

Sleep Awareness Week, an annual community education campaign to promote the importance of sleep as a fundamental pillar of good health, is July 6-12.