As we mark Women’s Health Week, it’s important to shine a light on a condition that is still too often overlooked in women: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a sleep disorder where the airway repeatedly narrows or collapses during sleep, causing breathing pauses, fragmented rest, and drops in oxygen levels.
We’ve all been there - a runny nose, scratchy throat and that “can’t breathe through my nose” feeling that comes with a cold. For most of us, it’s just a few uncomfortable nights. But if you have sleep apnea, those sniffles might make your nights even tougher. And surprisingly, untreated sleep apnea could even make it harder to recover from that cold.
Menopause changes a lot about how our bodies work - and often, how we sleep. Many women expect hot flushes, night sweats and occasional insomnia. But if you’re waking up feeling unrefreshed, dragging yourself through the day, and wondering why your energy has disappeared, the culprit might not just be menopause. It could be undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Menopause is a natural stage of life, but it often brings unexpected changes to health and wellbeing. One lesser-known change is an increased risk of sleep apnea, a condition where the airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep, causing repeated interruptions in breathing.
If you’re in your 40s or 50s and feeling utterly drained, you might put it down to work stress, family commitments or simply “getting older.” Middle age often comes with a full plate, and it’s easy to assume that exhaustion, irritability and brain fog are just part of the deal. But what if it’s not just burnout? What if something else - like undiagnosed sleep apnea - is silently draining your energy every night?
If you’ve been struggling with your weight or managing your blood sugar, you might be focusing on diet and exercise — and rightly so. But there’s another powerful, often-overlooked factor at play: your sleep. More specifically, undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea could be silently working against all your health goals.
We often think of sleep as a time when the body rests and recharges. But what if your sleep is silently working against your health? For many Australians, undiagnosed sleep apnea is doing just that—masking the signs of type 2 diabetes and delaying critical treatment.
Living with either sleep apnea or diabetes can be challenging—but when the two occur together, things can get even more complex. The good news? With the right approach, you can manage both conditions and feel like yourself again.
When we think about managing blood sugar, we usually focus on diet, exercise, and medications. But there’s a lesser-known player that could be quietly working against you each night: sleep apnea. It’s not just about snoring or feeling groggy in the morning—sleep apnea has a serious impact on your body’s ability to manage glucose, and it could be putting you at risk of type 2 diabetes without you realising it.
