Here’s how to recognize the warning signs.
Sleep apnoea is a serious condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. In severe cases, sufferers can stop breathing every minute, for more than 10 seconds at a time. Most people are unaware it’s happening, but wake up feeling inexplicably drained and struggle with extreme daytime fatigue.
A recent report in The Lancet estimates that around eight million people in the UK may have sleep apnoea, but only a small proportion have been diagnosed.
The number of cases is rising, particularly among younger people, partly due to increasing obesity rates. Left untreated, sleep apnoea can shorten life expectancy by up to 10 years and significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
“We urgently need to improve awareness,” says Dr Prina Ruparelia, a respiratory consultant at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. She suggests I undergo a sleep study to see what’s happening.
I agree, and she sends me home with a monitoring kit. It includes a nasal tube to track airflow, belts around my chest and abdomen to measure breathing effort, and a small clip on my finger to record heart rate and oxygen levels.
Across the country, patients often wait months — sometimes up to a year — for sleep studies. To reduce delays, many are now asked to carry out these tests at home, despite each kit costing thousands of pounds.
There’s a common belief that sleep apnoea only affects older, overweight men. While they are at higher risk, the condition can affect people of any age, gender or body type — including slim women in their 40s like me.
I tick two of the three main warning signs: loud snoring and persistent tiredness. After talking to those who’ve shared a bed with me, I realise I also meet the third — gasping for air while asleep.
As I settle into bed, surrounded by sensors and an infrared camera, I feel like I’m being filmed for a David Attenborough documentary.
The test will confirm whether I have sleep apnoea and, if so, which type.
The next morning, I return the kit. Dr Ruparelia, keen to raise awareness, reviews my results outside her usual working hours.
“How did you sleep?” she asks.
“Like a log,” I say.
“Not exactly,” she replies, showing me the data.
The recordings reveal multiple episodes where airflow dropped by more than 90%, meaning I had stopped breathing. My oxygen levels fell while my heart rate spiked.
Within one hour, I had stopped breathing 10 times, each episode lasting around 30 seconds.
“But don’t panic,” she reassures me. “Your body wakes itself up — you do start breathing again.”
She explains the problem only occurs when I sleep on my back, due to a slightly narrow airway and excessive muscle relaxation. I have no memory of any of it.
“People often don’t realise,” she says. “It’s usually their partners who notice. Loud snoring and gasping are key warning signs.”
I see myself as fit — even a would-be triathlete — so being diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnoea is a shock.
Accessing treatment can be difficult due to long NHS waiting lists. Zoe Dodds, from Birmingham, waited nearly a year for a CPAP machine, which delivers air through a mask worn overnight.
Diagnosed with severe sleep apnoea in January 2024, the 27-year-old was stopping breathing every two minutes while asleep.
“I was constantly exhausted, but I never imagined this was the cause,” she says. “I thought it only affected overweight older men — not me.”
Since using the CPAP machine, Zoe sleeps better, has more energy for work and her children, and has lost five stone (32kg). A recent sleep study shows her breathing interruptions have dropped from 31 an hour to just four — within the normal range. She no longer needs the machine.
“Getting that diagnosis saved my life,” she says.
CPAP machines are considered the NHS gold-standard treatment, but they don’t work for everyone. Studies suggest only about 40% of patients who still need CPAP continue using it after a year. Some find the masks uncomfortable or claustrophobic, while others struggle with running costs.
Sleep specialists believe another option — not widely available on the NHS — could transform care for people with mild to moderate sleep apnoea. Known as a mandibular advancement device (MAD), it’s a mouthguard worn at night that gently moves the lower jaw forward to keep the airway open.
Prof Ama Johal, a consultant orthodontist at Barts Health NHS Trust, trains dentists to fit these devices but says access is limited.
“Too many patients are left without alternatives,” he says. “These devices should be readily available through the NHS.”
Although Johal is also clinical lead for a private company specialising in MADs, his three decades of NHS experience underline their importance. Research shows they’re effective and often better tolerated than CPAP machines.
While doctors can prescribe and manage MAD treatment, only specially trained dentists can fit them. Around 2,000 dentists in the UK have this training, mostly in the private sector, at a cost of £700 to £1,000.
At a dental clinic in Greater Manchester, I’m fitted with my own device.
“Ouch,” I mutter as it pulls my jaw forward.
Looking more like a Bond villain than someone heading for better sleep, I’m eager to see if it helps.
After a couple of weeks, I notice more energy. My afternoon naps are no longer a daily necessity, and my snoring has eased — to my husband’s relief.
For now, I’ll keep wearing it.
If you think you might have sleep apnoea, speak to your GP. Mild symptoms may be managed with lifestyle changes such as weight loss, regular exercise, sleeping on your side, reducing alcohol before bed and quitting smoking.