Dom Joly’s snoring was so bad he was at risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
The 51-year-old comedian has opened up about his sleep struggles after being diagnosed with sleep apnoea in September, and doctors told him the condition would become life-threatening if he didn’t do something about it.
The ‘Trigger Happy TV’ star is quoted by the Daily Mail newspaper as saying:"It mainly occurs in overweight men over 45. I weighed two stone, too heavy for my 6ft height.
"Sleep apnoea makes you stop breathing for up to 90 seconds at a time and, in my case, up to 90 times a night.
"I was told it was probably caused by my tongue moving back and blocking the airways.
"The result was that my heart began pumping blood faster and faster around my body.
"It transpired that, for the better part of a decade, I hadn’t been getting proper REM (rapid eye movement) sleep which is important for brain function.
"He went on to say that, if I didn’t do something about it soon, in 10 years’ time, if I was still alive, I’d have developed a pronounced risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
"That really freaked me out."
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder characterised by pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep.
Dom was advised to use a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine – which involves wearing a mask over your nose while you sleep that pumps pressurised air to keep to the airway open – and quickly saw results.
He said: "Some people find it an encumbrance but I took to it immediately.
"I’ll never forget waking up the first morning having used the CPAP machine…. I felt so sharp, it was incredible, as though I could take on anything."
Dom Joly’s life-threatening snoring
