Story: TAYLAH BAKER
Would you be able to stop breathing for 10 seconds? How about 30 seconds? A minute? For those with sleep apnoea, your ability to breathe can be cut off for up to 90 seconds. What’s more terrifying? You may not even know it’s happening.
Grace’s heavy eyelids, weighed down from slumber, struggle to lift.
It was one of those nights — the nightly struggles of a wife reminded of her vows.
I, Grace, take you Tyler, to be my husband, to have and to hold, and to put up with your snoring from this day forward.
It was enough to make any woman go mad.
Sleep, interrupted, she thought, starring me.
And then everything stopped.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
She looked at her husband — eyes still shut, not a single sound coming from his nose or his mouth, chest no longer moving up and down as rhythmic as a balloon rising and falling.
Concern crept in and the weight of the covers turned from linen to lead.
Until death do us part?
He didn’t take a breath for 42 seconds — the longest 42 seconds of her life.
And that night the same terror happened repeatedly.
“Go get a check-up,” she said.
And he thought he would. Eventually.
But he also thought Bonnie, their two-year-old, could utter a ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo’ and wake him up, restoring his breathing to its rightful pace.
Six months later, Tyler went for a check-up and, shortly after, was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea.
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Falling into a deep slumber shouldn’t have you falling to pieces, so we spoke to Shepparton Sleep Centre owner Melanie King to put the troubles of sleep apnoea to bed.
What is sleep apnoea?
Sleep apnoea is when the upper airway repeatedly collapses either partially or completely for at least 10 seconds. Sometimes the airway obstruction can last longer than a minute.
What causes sleep apnoea?
It’s associated with medical conditions or differences in the structure of the head or neck that can make breathing more difficult. Often, these conditions overlap with risk factors; excess weight, narrow airways, enlarged tonsils that block the airway, things like that.
What symptoms should you look out for?
In Tyler’s case, it was the poor sleep quality and excessive snoring. People can also experience fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, mood changes, depression and anxiety, and waking up a lot throughout the night.
How do you diagnose someone with sleep apnoea?
A GP referral is required. Once received we guide people through the easy process, starting with setting up a small device and wires on a patient to record their sleeping behaviour at home. The data is then reviewed by a sleep physician, who then determines the patient’s diagnosis and recommended treatment.
What treatments are available?
Sleep apnoea rarely goes away, unless weight was the main cause. A large amount of weight-loss could lessen the symptoms, but often our CPAP machines are the most effective management of sleep apnoea. They transmit increased air pressure into the airway to prevent the throat from collapsing. Whether the recommended treatment be a CPAP or snoring solutions, we can assist in helping people sleep happily.