Answering the questions below will help you to understand whether sleep apnea is disturbing your sleep and disrupting your life. The questions marked with  ~ are especially important; a "yes" answer strongly suggests that sleep apnea is the problem.  To answer questions marked with a Y, you will need the help of your roommate, bedmate, or a family member, or you may use a tape recorder to identify snoring and pauses in breathing.  For information on how to use a tape recorder for this purpose, see Pha~ torn of the Night.

During Sleep in the Bedroom

    ~ Y    Do you snore loudly each night?

    ~ Y    Do you have frequent pauses in breathing while you sleep (you stop breathing for ten seconds or longer)?

    ~ Y    Are you restless during sleep, tossing and turning from one side to another?

       Y    Does your posture during sleep seem unusual or do you sleep sitting up or propped up by pillows?

       ~    Do you have insomnia-waking up frequently and without a reason?

       ~    Do you have to get up to urinate several times during the night?

       ~    Have you wet your bed?

       ~    Have you fallen from bed?

While Awake

           Do you wake up in the morning tired and foggy, not ready to face the day?

       ~    Do you have headaches in the morning?

       ~    Are you very sleepy during the day?

       ~    Do you fall asleep easily during the day?

             Do you have difficulty concentrating, being productive, and completing tasks at work?

             Do you carry out routine tasks in a daze?

       ~    Have you ever arrived home in your car but couldn't remember the trip from work?

Adjustment and Emotional Issues

       ~   Are you having serious relationship problems at home,with friends and relative,or at work?

            Are you afraid that you may be out of touch with the real world, unable to think clearly, losing your memory,or emotionally ill?

            Do your friends tell you that you're not like yourself?

            Are you depressed?

            Do you often have a drink of alcohol before going to bed?

      ~    If you are a man, is your collar size 17 in (42 centimeters) or larger?

What Your Answers May Mean

A "yes" answer to any of these questions may be a clue that an underlying problem exists. That disease may be sleep apnea; another sleep disorder, or a problem not related to sleep.  Each of the questions points to a symptom.  Symptoms are the clues, sometimes suibtle and perceived by the patient (such as memory loss), and sometimes overt and observable by friend or family (such as snoring) that indicate that the mind or body is not functioning properly.  Your doctor, trained to see symptoms as the manifestation of a disease, can help you interpret and understand the basis of your condition.  For rnore information to help in diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, read Phantom of the Night.

GS