Snoring or Sleep Apnoea? The Signs Worth Taking Seriously
Most snoring is harmless. Some of it is a treatable medical condition quietly damaging your heart. How to tell the difference.
Obstructive sleep apnoea is one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in the region. Estimates suggest the majority of people who have it do not know — they simply believe they are a heavy sleeper who wakes up tired.
What is actually happening
During sleep, the soft tissue of the throat relaxes and collapses, blocking the airway. Oxygen drops, the brain triggers a micro-arousal to reopen it, and the cycle repeats — sometimes dozens of times an hour. You never remember any of it.
"Untreated moderate to severe apnoea roughly doubles the risk of hypertension and significantly raises cardiovascular risk over time."
The signals that warrant a test
- Loud snoring punctuated by silences, then a gasp or choke.
- Waking with a dry mouth, sore throat or a dull morning headache.
- Overwhelming daytime sleepiness — falling asleep in meetings or at traffic lights.
- Waking to urinate two or more times a night without a urological cause.
- Blood pressure that resists medication.
Risk factors
Excess weight around the neck, male sex, age over 40, a small jaw or large tonsils, alcohol in the evening, and nasal obstruction all raise the risk. Notably, it is not exclusive to large men — slim women are frequently missed because they do not match the stereotype.
How it is diagnosed and treated
- A home sleep test measures oxygen saturation, airflow and breathing effort across one night.
- Mild cases often respond to weight change, positional therapy and removing evening alcohol.
- Moderate to severe cases are treated with CPAP or a mandibular advancement device.
- Treatment usually improves daytime alertness within two weeks.
Why we screen for it first
No amount of CBT-I, ritual or bedroom optimisation will fix an airway that closes 40 times an hour. If these signs sound familiar, an assessment comes before anything else we would recommend.