Center for Sleep Medicine
Sleep Apnea IQ Test
Untreated sleep apnea causes physical and emotional stress — a major risk factor for high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Take the quiz below to test your knowledge of this common yet potentially serious sleep disorder. To find the answers, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
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1. Apnea can be defined as a five-second pause in breathing.
2. Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) has the potential to be fatal
3. Snoring is a symptom of SAS.
4. Severe weight loss often accompanies SAS.
5. Surgery is the only treatment option available for patients with SAS.
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Take Your Symptoms Seriously
Snoring and sleep apnea are serious, so don't brush off or deny complaints about your snoring or your behavior. Besides, treatment may be easier than you think.
- Talk to your doctor and ask your family to help you pinpoint your nighttime and daytime symptoms, as well as other behaviors about which you may not be aware.
- Lose weight. Obesity can create obstructive fat deposits in and around the airway.
- Kick the habit. Sleep studies show that smoking cessation can reduce or even eliminate snoring and apneic episodes.
- Avoid alcohol & sleeping pills before bedtime. These substances tend to over-relax the surrounding airway muscles, which can cause the airway to collapse, making matters worse.
- Acknowledge your symptoms and take action to improve your life, your health, and your relationships with the gift of a lifetime of better sleep — for everyone you love!
Answers to Sleep Apnea IQ Quiz
1. False: Strictly speaking, apnea is defined as a pause in breathing of 10 or more seconds.
2. True: People who suffer from sleep apnea are three to five times more likely as non-sufferers to be involved in car accidents.
3. True: Not everyone who snores has SAS, and you can have SAS without snoring. But it is a common symptom.
4. False: SAS is most often associated with being overweight.
5. False: SAS can be treated with weight loss, mechanical devices, drugs, oxygen, CPAP, and BiLevel.
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