How Sleep Apnea Can Directly Affect Your Partner

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to snore as your throat muscles relax and collapse while you are asleep. Obviously, this isn't good for you and it can affect a lot of areas of your life, including your heart. However, there is another area of your life that your sleep apnea can be affecting and that is your spouse. While you should seek treatment for yourself, you should be even more motivated to do so knowing that it is affecting your loved one as well. Here are some of the ways your condition can be having a direct impact on the one you sleep next to each night.

Your partner will lose sleep – When you snore next to your partner, they won't get the sound sleep they would be allowed if you weren't snoring right next to their ear. When they aren't awarded the amount of sleep they should have each night, they will 'drag' the next day and won't function as well as they normally would. When this happens each and every night, they will continuously be affected in a way that can leave them not performing as well in school, work or other areas of their life that require them to be at their best.

Your partner may become depressed – When someone's sleep is interrupted on a regular basis, it can cause them to start to become depressed. One theory on why a lack of proper sleep can cause depression suggest that the amygdala is affected when a person doesn't get the proper amount of sound sleep. The amygdala is the part of the brain that plays a role in such things as anxiety levels and emotions. When this is affected, it may lead to one developing depression.

Your partner may become frustrated with you – While your sleep apnea is something that is totally out of your control, it is still common for those who don't get enough sleep due to something their partner is doing (whether it's on purpose or not) to become frustrated with them directly. Your partner may start being 'snappy' with you and not having the normal amount of patience to deal with issues the way they normally did.

Now that you see how sleep apnea can affect your partner, as well as your health, you should be even more willing to work with sleep apnea doctors to diagnose and treat your condition.  


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