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Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have:

  • Poor sleep quality
  • Snoring
  • Waking at night with gasps, problems breathing, or coughing
  • Daytime sleepiness
  • Lack of focus during the day
  • Morning headaches
  • Waking up to pass urine
  • Motor vehicle accidents
  • Sexual problems

People with central sleep apnea (CSA) may have:

  • Frequent waking
  • Poor sleep quality
  • Waking at night with problems breathing
  • Problems falling asleep or staying asleep

A person's sleep partner may notice some of these symptoms while their partner sleeps.

REFERENCES:

Central sleep apnea. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/central-sleep-apnea. Accessed September 17, 2020.

Greenstone M, Hack M. Obstructive sleep apnoea. BMJ. 2014 Jun 17;348:g3745.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/obstructive-sleep-apnea-osa-in-adults. Accessed September 16, 2020.

Sleep apnea. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea. Accessed September 16, 2020.

Sleep apnea information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website. Available at: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Sleep-Apnea-Information-Page. Accessed September 16, 2020.

Snoring, sleeping disorders, and sleep apnea. ENThealth—American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery website. Available at: http://www.entnet.org/content/snoring-and-sleep-apnea. Accessed September 17, 2020.

What is sleep apnea? American Sleep Apnea Association website. Available at: https://www.sleepapnea.org/learn/sleep-apnea. Accessed September 16, 2020.

Last reviewed March 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Kari Kassir, MD