Patients with nasal allergies often have fatigue during the day. One of the main causes of this tiredness is poor sleep quality during the night. Sleep studies of patients with allergic rhinitis have shown that they repeatedly come out of the deepest phases of sleep and enter periods of lighter sleep; these periods of near-awakening are referred to as “micro-arousals.” Some patients will experience breaks in their normal breathing pattern, but complete stoppage of breathing (apnea) is unusual.
These abnormalities in sleep are most strongly related to the degree of nasal congestion. Medications aimed at relieving nasal congestion, such as intranasal steroids, appear to correct some of these abnormalities in breathing during sleep in patients with allergies.