Hi. It’s Jenny at AnxietyBoss.com. Our question today is from Jim in Columbia, North Carolina. Can stress or anxiety cause sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea can be a cause for concern because it affects the way you breathe when you’re asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type, and this is when the soft tissue in the back of your throat relaxes and blocks the airway. This is what causes the accompanying loud snoring. Breathing is interrupted for a number of seconds throughout the night, and when you are asleep, breathing is shallow and you don’t enjoy the deep sleep which is necessary to be reenergized and refreshed for the next day’s activities.
The complications associated with obstructive sleep apnea are heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. There is the danger that because of a difficulty with concentrating, clear thinking is diminished and even driving a car becomes hazardous.
This pattern of sleep deprivation means poor concentration and sluggishness at work or at school. Often it’s accompanied by loud snoring. Sleep apnea can lead to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, weight gain, heart disease and stroke. Another symptom of sleep apnea is waking up with sleep paralysis. People become so afraid of this that they fear sleep and insomnia results.
It isn’t only adults who suffer with sleep apnea. Children can have it as well. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 4 percent of children battle with sleep apnea. Many kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder actually have obstructive sleep apnea. With treatment, both children and adults can have their symptoms controlled.
While treatment often starts with behavioral therapy, steering clear of sleeping pills is a good idea because these relax the throat muscles and the airway as well. If you’ve tried lifestyle changes without much success, a sleep specialist can evaluate your symptoms and find other treatments such as using supplemental oxygen while you sleep as well as breathing devices.
Sleep apnea is a chronic condition and this means long-term care and also management.
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the question was whether stress and anxiety can cause apnea, not whether apnea can cause stress or anxiety. I still would like to know whether stress can cause apnea. Thanks,
The answer is inconclusive, based on available studies. However, there is a higher rate of anxiety in people with apnea when compared to those in the general population.
I only ever have this when I am stressed. I thought I was waking up in a panic attack not this.
It’s terrifying, but thankfully only when I am worried or upset, so it’s not often.
Hope this helps
Thanks for sharing.
I was in a bad relationship and got so stressed I developed sleep apnea. I would stop breathing and wake up every night. It would take me a few seconds after waking up to regain control of my breathing. After my boyfriend at the time moved out and we broke up immediately I stopped having sleep apnea and haven’t had a problem since.
This can also be a panic attack, as panic attacks can wake you from sleep. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed in the sleep lab, where monitors observe your breathing, oxygen in your blood, and stage of sleep. Also, bed partners will observe the affected person to have loud snoring or periods of not breathing during the night. If you wake up from sleeping and have problems catching your breath, then this is most likely a panic attack or an asthma attack.
I have had massive stress and have severe sleep apnea. I have only had it since than.
Yes, anxiety and stress is associated with sleep apnea. Once your sleep doctor has optimized your treatment for sleep apnea, then you can also consider optimizing your treatment for anxiety.
Why do veterans have 4 to 5 times more cases of sleep apnea?
There appears to be an association between PTSD and the development of obstructive sleep apnea. And since many veterans have PTSD, then it is also associated with sleep apnea. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25665698
I have had severe stress this week, worst in all my 47 years, and my breathing is very shallow.
Just as I’m about to pass out through exhaustion, because my racing mind won’t let me sleep, I’ve quickly awoken like I’m not breathing and having a panic attack, but I’ve never had panic attacks the rest of the time, or apnoea before.
I think if PTSD victims far more commonly have it, and I’m having it now suddenly, then it’s fairly obviously stress related, especially if the stress is causing shallow breathing. Stress is known to tighten your throat. I’ve also woken up several times with a very dry mouth and needed to drink, so maybe keeping hydrated can help?
Sorry to hear about your breathing problems and anxiety. These relaxation strategies, like diaphragmatic breathing, may help you: https://anxietyboss.com/anxiety-treatments/relaxation-strategies/
Woke up this morning to what felt like someone punch me in the chest followed by what I think a paralysis for 30 some seconds or even fainted (not for sure) then a huge rush of adrenaline felt fine afterwards besides me panicking trying to figure out what happened BP was fine along with temp and heart rate, ive been super stressed past two weeks and have bad health anxiety other than that I’m a semi perfectly healthy 22 year old women… Ive been wondering the same thing if regular anxiety can cause sleep apnea usually only happens when I’m REALLY stressed or on the brink of having a meltdown
The studies on anxiety and stress causing sleep apnea are inconclusive. However, there is a higher rate of anxiety in people with apnea when compared to those in the general population.
Excellent article! I as a combat veteran with PTSD and sleep apnea, find this article remarkable because our VA doctors wouldn’t be able to answer why anxiety/stress/PTSD aggravates sleep apnea. If you do have a chance to reply or edit this page can you please include the medical literature sources in this article? More veterans will be visiting this page that’s for sure! Thank you.
Thanks for visiting. Of course your VA doctors are directed to grant disability benefits for such combat-related illness by utilizing the reasoning of beyond reasonable doubt, versus the preponderance of the evidence. In other words, the chances are stacked against you for getting VA disability benefits, even when you have a good case for it, with an active-duty, service-related illness. That’s why it is important to get your own private doctor, in this case a private psychiatrist, to give you a truly objective assessment, one that a VA doctor will not be able to provide, when it comes to assessing for VA disability benefits. Thanks for referring your fellow Veterans…I will be updating this topic soon, with updated research studies.
I wake up suddenly and I believe Its because I’m not breathing, at least that’s how it feels. That doesn’t happen every night. I have periods without this issue. I had done a sleep study and it didn’t result in sleep apnea.
What could it be? I suffer from anxiety, could that be the cause?
Thanks
It could be from anxiety, but it can still be from other medical causes. Please follow-up with your doctor to make sure nothing else is going on with you physically. If nothing medical is found, then anxiety may be the culprit.
Thanks for your answer doctor Carlo,
I went to the doctor and he prescribed me lorazepam just to try to see if the symptoms go away. From there decide what’s next.
My doctor confirmed this is no sleep apnea.
Ok, good luck…hopefully this helps you, and if it does, then to get a referral to a psychiatrist.
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Your questions are all over the place…what are you really trying to ask?