Consequences of sleep apnea on everyday life
Living with sleep apnea means you may have to learn to regularly deal with excessive fatigue and sleepiness, which could put your relationship under strain.
Daytime tiredness
Daytime tiredness is the most common problem2. You might feel tired in the morning after a restless night and struggle to stay awake as the day goes on, wanting to nod off in the afternoon1.Tiredness can lead to poor concentration and slower reflexes, even domestic accidents.
Higher risk of car accident
If you need to drive, make sure you’re not feeling tired. People with sleep apnea are between two and seven times more likely to have a car accident than others. If your job involves operating machinery or transport, you have an even higher risk of causing an accident3.
2 to 7 time more risk of car accident
References
1Obstructive sleep apnoea, Sleep Health Foundation, 2011
2Sleep breathing disorders – European Respiratory Society White Book (chapter
3Terán-Santos J., Jiménez-Gómez A., & Cordero-Guevara, J. (1999). The association between sleep apnea and the risk of traffic accidents. N Engl J Med., 340(11), 881-3.