Your sleep disorder can affect your life far beyond the impact of the sleep disorder on your health. It can affect your partners health too.
Sleep disorder impact includes:
Sleep disorders impact on the sufferer:
- Health and well-being impact
- Financial impact (lost work hours, low productivity and cost of treatments and equipment such Cpap machines and accessories)
Sleep disorders impact on the partner:
Sleep disorder impact on their quality of life; poor quality sleep and lack of sleep leads to:
- Less sleep satisfaction
- Reduced quality of life
- Health problems – tiredness, and stress
Sleep Disorders Impact on the sufferer’s bed partner:
Disrupted sleep: Bed partners of people who suffer from untreated sleep apnea complain of being woken by the apnea sufferers loud snoring and the noise they make when they have an obstructive episode. This can happen several times a night. However, unlike many (if not most) partners of someone who snores, the disruption cannot be solved by going off to sleep in another bed. In fact, in cases of severe sleep apnea, this will be the last thing the bed partner will want to do. What if you stop breathing and don’t start again?
Psychological health impact of fear: It’s frightening to be woken by loud noises when you know your bed partner is making them because he stopped breathing and started gasping for air. This can make it hard for you to sleep at all. What if he doesn’t start breathing again? What if he doesn’t wake up? What if you don’t wake up? This can have huge psychological and physical implications over the long-term.
Lack of sleep – a starting point for other health and well-being issues:
- Exhaustion and excessive daytime sleepiness
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability
- Lowered immune system
- Greater likelihood of mishaps and accidents
- Depression and Anxiety
- Economic impacts from lowered productivity – adding to long term physical and psychological health problems
The impact of a sleep disorder on your partner is really important, as it may make you think differently about the true cost of the financial impact of getting effective Cpap treatment for your sleep disorder. All considered – it’s more costly to not get treatment, so make an appointment with your Doctor and get the rest that you deserve.
