What can family or friends do to help?
Often, people with sleep apnea are unaware of their condition. These people do not realize that they wake up many times throughout the night due to cessations of their breathing. Usually Family members and bedmates are the first to recognize the symptoms of loud snoring and periodic choking that are common in people who have sleep apnea.
There are many things that family members can do in order to help a loved one who has sleep apnea:
- Let the person know if he/she snores loudly or stops breathing during sleep.
- Encourage the person to undergo a sleep study
- Help the person follow the doctor's treatment plan, including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
- Make sure the person puts on the CPAP mask before falling asleep
- Provide emotional support
A person with Sleep apnea stands a high risk of getting in car accidents, being involved in work-related accidents, and suffering from other medical problems associated with their sleepiness. Fortunately there is a possibility to reduce these risks. The first step is to undergo a sleep study to properly diagnose the person’s condition. Following the Study an appropriate treatment plan can be devised to help improve the patients overall condition. Taking the necessary steps to improve a patient’s sleep will undoubtedly improve the quality of sleep for their partner as well!
RECAP:
Often a person with sleep apnea is unaware of their irregular sleep behaviors. Luckily a bedmate of someone with sleep apnea can notice and alert their partner about the heavy snoring or long pauses in breathing that occur during their sleep. The bedmate should also be on the lookout for red flags such as: morning headaches, forgetfulness, mood changes and a decreased interest in sex, all of which are symptoms of a person who suffers from sleep apnea. In this way a bedmate can help their partner become aware of their condition and urge them to go get treatment.
