After a long and busy day, there are few things more appealing than hopping into your comfortable bed and getting a good night’s rest. But that dream is quickly squashed as soon as your partner with sleep apnea falls asleep and begins snoring loudly. No matter how hard you try to fall asleep, their gasps for air and snores keep you from drifting into a deep sleep — and before you know it, your alarm clock is going off.
When your partner suffers from sleep apnea, it doesn’t just disrupt their sleep. It disrupts yours as well. If you’re not getting the sleep you need, you can experience lower resistance to sickness, mood swings, hormonal imbalances, and a decreased metabolism. Along with hurting your health, your partner’s sleep apnea can directly impact your relationship. ApneaMed explains how sleep apnea affects the patient’s partner and what to do about it.
3 Ways Sleep Apnea Impacts Your Partner
When someone suffers from sleep apnea, they often find themselves gasping for air throughout the night while they sleep. This is caused when the soft tissues of the throat and neck collapse and block the individual’s airway. As they begin to choke, they will gasp for air — often without waking up. However, this is extremely disrupting to their partner, who hears them gasping for air and snoring while they sleep.
If you or your partner have obstructive sleep apnea, it’s essential to be aware of how it can impact your relationship and the individual without sleep apnea. Here are three ways sleep apnea affects your partner and relationship.
Decreased Libido
Intimacy is vital to maintaining the physical aspect of your relationship. But when one of you faces consistent breathing disturbances, and the other is waking up because of your partner’s snoring, it’s nearly impossible to get a good night’s sleep. Pair the poor sleep with everything on your daily to-do list, and you will both feel wiped at the end of the day. As a result, most individuals experience a decreased libido because they don’t have the energy to do anything other than sleep.
Sexual Dysfunction
Along the same lines of a decreased libido, the Journal of Sexual Medicine performed a study that found both women and men suffering from sleep apnea experience higher rates of sexual dysfunction. When the patient cannot perform intimately with their partner, it can create a rift in the relationship and make them feel more distant.
Mood Swings
When someone doesn’t get enough sleep, they’re often more irritable and cranky. The University of California at Berkeley’s recent study investigated how poor sleep impacts a marital relationship. The study concluded that a lack of sleep could make a person more irritable and selfish. It can also make couples feel distant and unable to address their partner’s needs.
Test for Sleep Apnea with a Home Sleep Study
If you or your partner are exhibiting obstructive sleep apnea symptoms, undergoing a sleep study can determine if you are suffering from sleep apnea. ApneaMed’s at-home sleep study makes it easy and affordable for you to self-administer a sleep apnea test from the comfort of your own home. The test is delivered right to your door, enabling you to use the device to track your heart rate, breathing patterns, and more while you sleep. Following the sleep study, a board-certified sleep physician will review your results and determine the best treatment form.
Treating your sleep apnea will not only help you sleep more soundly but will allow your partner to get an adequate shut-eye as well. As a result, you’ll both feel less stressed, more rested, and feel more in sync than you have in some time. ApneaMed’s at-home sleep apnea test provides a comfortable, convenient, and affordable option.
If you have any questions about ApneaMed’s at-home sleep apnea test or our sleep apnea treatment equipment, contact our team to learn more.