1 in 4 Singapore Office Workers May Be at Risk of Sleep Apnoea — Are You One of Them?

SINGAPORE – Vincent Lim had been snoring for years before he found out it was a symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea.

His wife would sometimes pinch his nose or kick him awake because his snoring was disturbing her sleep.

On weekends, when the 50-year-old company director in the oil and gas industry could sleep more, he did not feel rested.

“I recall always wanting to squeeze in that extra few minutes of bedtime,” says Lim, who has two sons, aged 18 and 21.

He attributed his tiredness to work, getting older and his active lifestyle. He worked out and played basketball, and thought he was simply pushing himself too hard.

His experience reflects the difficulty of recognising obstructive sleep apnoea, with a new survey finding that many working adults may be overlooking its symptoms.

A sleep health survey of 1,000 office-based working adults in Singapore aged 30 to 60, conducted in June, found that one in four screened at intermediate-to-high risk for obstructive sleep apnoea.

The survey, titled Sleeping Enough, Waking Up Tired: The Hidden Cost of Sleep Apnea Risk in Singapore’s Workforce, was jointly commissioned by medical technology company Easmed and sleep health company The Air Station.

Misconceptions delay diagnosis

The survey found that 60% of employees had never heard of sleep apnoea or knew only the name, while 56% had never evaluated their sleep quality via a doctor, app or diagnostic test.

Half of the respondents viewed daytime fatigue as a normal part of busy working life, while 25% believed brief breathing pauses during sleep were harmless.

Another 24% mistook loud snoring for deep sleep.

These misconceptions may make it harder for people to recognise the signs of obstructive sleep apnoea, a common condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

It can cause loud snoring, gasping or choking at night, frequent awakenings and daytime tiredness.

Undiagnosed and untreated obstructive sleep apnoea can also lead to long-term health issues including hypertension, heart attack and stroke.

Phua Chu Qin is a senior consultant at Sengkang General Hospital’s department of otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery.

She says the finding that one in four office workers screened at intermediate-to-high risk of sleep apnoea, yet 60% had never heard of it or knew only the name, is concerning.

“This pattern is consistent with what I see in clinical practice.

“Many patients come to me having lived with symptoms for years without realising that what they were experiencing could be a treatable medical condition,” she adds.

Kenny Pang, an ear, nose and throat specialist from Asia Sleep Centre, says when he started his private practice at Paragon in 2006, only one in 10 patients had heard of sleep apnoea.

Today, almost all his patients – nine in 10 – come complaining about sleep apnoea and snoring.

Yet, many still put off seeing a doctor for years, with men making up the majority of those who do so, at a ratio of about six men to one woman, adds Pang.

Lim says he was already snoring around 2018. Eventually, his wife began waking him because she needed to sleep too.

He would also wake up at night choking or gasping for breath, usually when sleeping on his back. Turning onto his side helped for a while, but he would eventually roll onto his back again.

Search for a remedy

This went on for a couple of years before he sought help.

An ambulatory sleep study at Easmed in 2020 showed that he had positional obstructive sleep apnoea, meaning his symptoms occurred when he slept on his back.

He tried using a tennis ball to encourage himself to sleep on his side, and a mandibular advancement device, which holds the lower jaw forward to help keep the airway open. Neither worked.

He eventually tried a continuous positive airway pressure machine. It is a medical device that delivers a steady stream of air through a mask to keep the airway open during sleep.

It took him about a week to get used to wearing it, and he has now been using it almost every night for about five years, since 2021.

His gasping stopped and his wife stopped waking him up.

“The biggest change was that my breathing got a lot easier. I woke up feeling that I was a little bit more alert,” says Lim.

Doctors say a person can have significant sleep apnoea without being obviously sleepy during the day.

Phua says: “There are people who have significant abnormalities during sleep, but feel that they have adapted to their symptoms over time.

“They may recognise the difference only after treatment, when they realise they had been functioning below their usual level for some time.”

Looking back, Lim recognises the snoring and tiredness as warning signs he had previously dismissed.

“I thought snoring was normal. I didn’t realise it could be a symptom that should be checked.

“Another warning sign is that if you’re healthy and lead an active lifestyle, why do you still feel tired even after getting enough sleep?” he says.

Phua says it is particularly important not to ignore repeated witnessed breathing pauses or gasping during sleep, as these can be warning signs of obstructive sleep apnoea and should prompt a visit to the doctor.

Article taken from The Straits Times by Amrita Kaur.

😴 Sleep apnoea surgery — will your insurance cover it?

Many people don’t realise that certain treatments or operations for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) may be claimable under private health insurance or Integrated Shield Plans in Singapore, depending on your plan and policy terms.

Don’t wait until you need treatment to find out what you’re covered for!

❤️ Have questions about your hospital plan? Reach out to #michgotyourback for a friendly, no-pressure chat. I’m happy to help you understand your coverage better.

Because peace of mind starts with knowing what you’re covered for.