What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which your breathing stops or gets very shallow while you are sleeping. Each pause typically lasts 10-20 seconds or more. These pauses can occur 20 to 30 times or more an hour. During sleep, enough air cannot flow into your lungs through your mouth and nose even though you try to breathe. When this happens, the amount of oxygen in your blood may drop. Normal breaths then start again with a loud snort or choking sound.

People with sleep apnea cannot get restful sleep because these brief episodes of increased airway resistance (and breathing pauses) occur frequently, interrupting sleep all night long. This prevents people from going into a deep sleep, resulting in poor sleep quality.

Common characteristics of people with sleep apnea:

· People with sleep apnea often have loud snoring. However, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. Some people with sleep apnea don't know they snore.

· Sleep apnea happens more often in people who are overweight, but even thin people can have it.

· Most people don't know they have sleep apnea. They don't know that they are having problems breathing while they are sleeping.

· A family member and/or bed partner may notice the signs of sleep apnea first.

Untreated sleep apnea can increase the chance of having high blood pressure and even a heart attack or stroke. Untreated sleep apnea can also increase the risk of diabetes and the risk for work-related accidents and driving accidents.

Source: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

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