When Jim Allott went to the doctor about his chronic snoring, he already suspected obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) , a condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing while asleep. Even so, the army veteran was astonished when a sleep specialist recorded his breathing stopping more than 600 times during the test night. Jim, who was in his late 30s when he was diagnosed with the condition, says: “My doctor told me I had the second worst sleep apnoea in north Wales.
The only person who had it worse than me was an 83-year-old.” During his 10-hour sleep, doctors recorded 617 episodes where Jim stopped breathing, ranging from 11 seconds to two minutes 16 seconds in length. Although OSA can cause tiredness, mood swings and headaches, if left untreated, the condition can lead to more serious problems, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease and put sufferers at an increased risk of having a stroke.
Research by the Sleep Apnoea Trust in 2020 suggested up to 10 million Brits may be living with the condition , while according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England one in 20 could be impacted. For just over a decade, Jim, father to 11-year-old Max, has had to sleep with a CPAP machine , which gently pumps air into a mask worn over his mouth and nose while he sleeps. The machine aims to improve breathing by preventing the airways from getting too narrow, improving sleep quality.
The 54-year-old, who runs a business carving milita.