Everything You Need To Know About Sleep Apnoea

It’s not just about snoring. Amcal pharmacist BRINLEY HOSKING shares the signs to watch out for.

- Gabriella Del Grande

There’s no doubt you’ve struggled with restless nights and a lack of sleep, regularly or occasionally, at some point in your life. You know that missing out on a good amount of shut-eye can have a negative impact on you, mentally, physically and emotionally.

And while any kind of sleep deprivation isn’t good for our mind and body, there are some forms that are more concerning than others, such as sleep apnoea – a common condition most of us have heard of.

So what exactly is sleep apnoea? Is it just a bad case of loud snoring? And how are we supposed to avoid or treat it?

Well, 61 per cent of the population are unaware of how to properly define the condition, so we asked Amcal professional services manager Brinley Hosking to explain…

WHAT IS SLEEP APNOEA?

To put it simply, sleep apnoea is a health condition whereby breathing stops and starts again due to the throat partially or completely blocking while a person sleeps.

“The Australian Pharmacy Sleep Services defines sleep apnoea as a largely undiagnosed sleep disorder where a person’s upper airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, causing them to stop breathing for a period of 10 seconds or longer,” Brinley explains, adding there are varied severities of the condition.