Carlos had been a snorer his whole life. All the men in his family snored, too. Even after his wife began retiring to the family’s guest bedroom so she could sleep in peace, Carlos, 57, didn’t think much of his nighttime quirk; after all, he had bigger problems — including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, heartburn and erectile dysfunction — to worry about.
It wasn’t until Carlos, whose story is featured in the American Psychiatric Association’s guide to its latest diagnostic manual, complained to his doctor about daytime sleepiness and a lack of focus — despite being in bed for eight to 10 hours each night — that he learned his snoring was a symptom of a very real, albeit common, disorder: sleep apnea, which repeatedly causes breathing to stop throughout the night.
“Years ago, we thought snoring was weird and funny, but we now know it’s a potentially negative symptom,” says Dr. Karl Doghramji, a psychiatrist who serves as medical director of the Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center in Philadelphia.
And while most snoring is harmless, it may be cause for concern if it involves a pause in breathing followed by a gasp — a typical pattern in sleep apnea, says Dr. Neil Kline, a sleep physician, internist and spokesman for the American Sleep Association in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
In the case of many other nighttime habits, the line between simply bizarre and truly worrisome usually comes down to how frequent and disruptive the behavior is and whether it’s explainable by something else, like poor sleeping habits. “There are people who are following all of the rules and sleeping at the right time and not taking medications, and it happens on a constant basis,” Doghramji says. “Then we try to find out what’s causing the condition.”
When in doubt, seek an evaluation from a sleep specialist, who can help diagnose or dismiss your (or your partner’s) concerns. If it is a sleep disorder, effective treatments are available and important to pursue since untreated conditions can impair daily life and, at least in the case of sleep apnea, can raise risk of heart attack, stroke and deadly accidents. “Don’t dismiss these,” Doghramji says.
Here’s how to evaluate whether six other nighttime behaviors might be red flags:
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[See: 10 Ways to Get Better Sleep (and Maybe Cure Your Insomnia).]
[See: Trouble Sleeping? Ask Yourself Why.]
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
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Drooling, Snoring, Talking, Walking: What Your Sleep Habits Reveal About Your Health originally appeared on usnews.com