Sleep apnoea is common as people get older and put on weight. As fat goes on the belly, it also goes on the neck and around the tongue. For some people this results in a tongue that blocks off the airway in the back of the throat during sleep at night. This may be manifested by loud snoring with quite long pauses where breathing stops (apnoea) and this may be noticed by a concerned partner.

When the tongue blocks off the airway it causes hypoxia or lack of oxygen to the body. A message is then sent to the brain to become more alert and stimulate breathing again. If this short-lasting cycle goes on all night, it is as if someone shook us many times through the night to wake us up.

No wonder then that this problem causes daytime sleepiness, which can be dangerous for driving and unpleasant trying to stay awake all day. It can also cause high blood pressure.

To diagnose whether you are a sufferer of sleep apnoea requires a visit to your GP and referral for sleep studies. This involves being hooked up to a machine that measures breathing and snoring patterns. This testing can now be done in the home rather than in a hospital.

To treat this condition a CPAP machine is used to put positive pressure in the mouth during the night, which prevents the apnoeic episodes. This is a long term but very effective treatment that promptly relieves the daytime sleepiness problem.