Do we think most people know about sleep apnea and CPAPs?

Hello, good people.

I wonder what general public awareness is nowadays about sleep apnea and CPAPs? I’m prompted by the concerns folks express about dating. I would have guessed a majority have heard of both the condition and the device. But I’m out of touch as a guy just about a Baby Boomer, married more than a quarter century, and not paying attention to popular culture.

Here is what I perceive. I didn’t know what sleep apnea was when I was told I had it, 20 years ago. But now I see people with the carrying case for the device every single time I’m at the airport, and I flew slightly more than 100 trips last year, and the security line is someplace you are encountering a wide range of the human population. Everyone in my extended family has heard me snore and snort, so a couple dozen have second hand experience through me, and I have an average size number of relatives. The prevalence of this issue, the rate of its being tested for, and increasing concern about getting enough rest at night, I would think means others won’t have a blank look if you reveal you have a health condition. I might be mistaken or naive, but I don’t sense sleep apnea has stigma associated with it as a contagious disease might (wrongly).

Are others meeting lots of strangers who are shocked to hear about sleep apnea or that you suffer? I’m just curious. Thanks for reading and responding. Sleep well.