Is Sleep Apnea or Snoring Keeping You Awake?
Sleep-related problems disrupt your quality of life. Sleep apnea can cause repeated episodes of partial or complete suffocation sometimes lasting a minute or more throughout the night. This is because sleep apnea causes your body to essentially choke on itself. Health complications related to sleep apnea include increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or death.
How do you get sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is caused by a collapse of the airway, usually due to the soft tissues in the mouth, tongue or throat closing down and blocking airflow during sleep. Common signs of this include snoring, which happens when you are attempting to breathe through a narrow airway. Snoring is not just a nuisance. Left untreated, snoring can escalate to full OSA. This is when the narrow airway is completely blocked. It is estimated that 1 in 4 adults over 30 unknowingly suffering from at least mild sleep apnea.