Orana Mall Pharmacy sleep clinic provides sleep apnoea treatment

Mr Hayes, from Wellington, has been using a machine to help keep his airways clear while sleeping for the past 12 years, after he was diagnosed with central sleep apnoea.

In his eighties, Mr Hayes has suffered cardiac arrest in the past and can't afford to have the oxygen flow to his blood restricted.

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This is what happens with sleep apnoea, which causes people to snore and sometimes stop breathing, limiting oxygen to their heart.

Mr Hayes' wife, Robyn Hayes, also lives with a type of sleep apnoea called restrictive sleep apnoea. The conditions are hereditary and the couple's daughter, in her fifties, has also been diagnosed with sleep apnoea.

"I was a snorer. Anybody who snores has challenges with breathing," Mrs Hayes told the Daily Liberal.

"Gary has cardiac arrest and a bad heart situation - you've got to have good breathing for that as well."

The couple both use an assisted breathing apparatus that goes over their nose and mouth to help them breathe while sleeping at night. Called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, the machine has a hose attached to it and a water reservoir, allowing moist air to reach their lungs.

Mrs Hayes said the duo take their machines with them every time they go away from home for the night.

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Her message was for people to get checked if they snore and "they want to live longer".

"Garry only lived longer because of the CPAP machine," she said.

The duo underwent a sleep study by a sleep specialist at Orana Mall Pharmacy, in its sleep clinic. Their machine now tracks their sleep and they go regularly to their GP as well as a cardiac and respiratory specialist in Dubbo who oversees their treatment.

Mrs Hayes, who is a retired nurse, does all the driving and said, before she started using the machine, she would have to pull over for a rest - she was that tired from her sleep apnoea.

Now, she can "get up and function all day".

This Sleep Health Week 2023 (September 25 to October 1), registered nurse Peta Evans, who manages the sleep clinic at Orana Mall Pharmacy, is urging locals to get tested if they snore.

It's estimated one in 10 Australians have a sleep disorder, with obstructive sleep apnoea the most common form.

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"Most people are coming to us either because they're feeling really tired throughout the day or because their partner has said that they're snoring and it's disrupting their partner's sleep as well," Ms Evans said.

She said as knowledge grew about the importance of a good night's sleep for our health, so too did enquiries at her clinic, and the CPAP machine was the most commonly prescribed treatment.

Ms Evans said sleep hygiene - going to bed and waking up at the same time every day - as well as restricting caffeine intake in the latter part of the day, and reducing screen time before bed, were all important to getting a good night's sleep.

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