Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder characterized by frequent pauses in breathing during the night. Pauses often occur multiple times per hour and can last 10 seconds or longer. During these pauses, the brain and the rest of the body are deprived of vital oxygen. Sensing your lack of oxygen, the brain rouses you awake (usually only partially so you’re often unaware of it) to start breathing again. Most people don’t know they have sleep apnea and are only made aware of it after visiting their doctor for symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness and complaints by the partner of their intolerably loud snoring. The snoring sounds are a result of the air trying to squeeze its way around the blockage. While sleep apnea is a broad term for frequent pauses in nighttime breathing, there are actually two types of sleep apnea: Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea.

Known as OSA for short, obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea, affecting approximately 2% to 9% of people in the U.S. It’s caused by a physical blockage of the airway, typically the muscles at the back of the throat that relax and collapse during sleep, obstructing the airway.

Symptoms of OSA

The telltale symptoms of OSA are loud snoring, waking up short of breath with a snort, and periods of breathing cessation that are observed by a partner. Other symptoms include:

Sleep apnea can only be diagnosed by a trained professional, such as a doctor or dentist. However, there are a few things you can do and look for to give yourself a sort of pre-diagnosis. Again, we must stress that these will NOT confirm that you have sleep apnea. Only a sleep study can truly confirm that you have sleep apnea. For this same reason, by law, you are required to get one before purchasing a CPAP machine within the United States. However, the following can give you an idea if you should seek out a sleep study in the first place.

Look at your FitBit Readings

Smart devices that monitor your health, such as a FitBit, are a great way to alert you when you are not getting the sleep you need. They can monitor how much true sleep you are getting and record the time during the night actually spent in restful sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep in adults aged 18-65 and 7 to 8 hours for adults over 65. Anything under 6 hours is unhealthy. If you notice that your smart device is sensing that you are consistently not getting the right amount of sleep, you should begin the next step of consulting a professional.

Install a Sleep Monitoring App

They really do have an App for that; Several, in fact! These apps use your phone’s microphone to record you while you sleep. The program will then monitor for any snoring, restlessness, or disruptions in your sleep. When you wake up, your data will show you how long you slept and explain any disruptions you had overnight. These apps aren’t infallible, but if you notice several nights of unrest, it may be time to talk to your doctor.