Sleep apnea is often not recognized as a medical problem because its common symptoms are a part of modern life. After all, restless sleep, daytime sleepiness and loud snoring can also indicate a night spent out at a smoky nightclub. That is why sleep apnea's lesser-known symptoms are useful for spotting this serious and life-threatening medical issue. While not everyone will have all indicators, they can be a clue to schedule an appointment with a medical provider.
Frequent Nighttime Urination
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is linked to breathing difficulties. Sometimes it is caused by obstruction (obstructed sleep disorder) and other times by an actual cessation of breathing (central sleep disorder). Finally, both of these symptoms can be present, a condition known as mixed sleep apnea. Regardless, all varieties of sleep apnea result in multiple awakenings throughout the night. Most of these awakenings are not remembered. However, one clue that sleep is not properly doing its duty is frequent nighttime urination. Because micro-awakenings keep the body in a more active state, the kidneys continue to create waste at the usual rate.
Morning Headaches
Sleep apnea can cause pounding morning headaches. A 2009 study in the journal Cephalalgia reported that 33 percent of obstructive sleep apnea sufferers have morning headaches, especially women patients. During the night, hours of breathing difficulty starves the brain of oxygen. The reduced oxygen intake is not just occurring during awakenings, but during all phases of sleep. The good news is that these headaches have a 90 percent success rate for being treated by a breathing-assist technique called nasal continuous positive airway pressure.
Swollen Legs
Leg swelling is a symptom of severe sleep apnea. In 2002, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reported that leg swelling may be a reliable marker for sleep apnea when correlated with obesity. Again, the desperate need for oxygen is the cause. When the body is starved for oxygen, blood flow concentrates in the central regions to protect the vital organs. In the extremities, meanwhile, fluids pool, causing a deep and painful ache. This is a dangerous symptom, as swollen legs can also indicate heart or respiratory failure. Call your medical provider immediately if experiencing swollen legs after awakening.
Memory Issues
Sufferers of sleep apnea are generally unaware of the condition because it happens during sleep. A final rare symptom that can raise a red flag is difficulty with memory. These memory lapses may seem harmless alone, but can be as serious as Alzheimer's disease. In June 2008, neuroscientists from UCLA published evidence that the brains of untreated sleep apnea patients actually lose mass, particularly in the structures known as the mammillary bodies, a part of the limbic system that processes recognition memory. This level of brain damage is certainly a "wake up call" for researchers and sufferers alike to get tested for sleep apnea if experiencing these symptoms.
