Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder. When a person has sleep apnea, he or she stops breathing for short periods of time. In most cases this lasts from 10 seconds to 1 minute or more while asleep. Then the person begins breathing again. A person may stop breathing only a few times or hundreds of times in the course of the night.

Sleep Apnea Risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Nasal congestion or obstruction
• Large tonsils and/or adenoids, having a “crowded throat”, large tongue or small jaw
• Lung disease, atrial fibrillation and heart failure
• Scoliosis or muscle weakness
• Sedating medicines and alcohol
• Hypothyroidism and certain other endocrine (hormonal) disorders

Sleep Apnea has been associated with:

• Heart attacks
• Convulsions
• Memory problems
• Slowed thinking
• Iirritability
• Mood swings
• Depression
• High speed highway crashes