What Is Sleep Apnea and How to Treat It?
What is Sleep Apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that occurs when someone stops breathing during sleep. It can happen many times throughout the night — 5 to 100 times per hour — and breathing pauses can last 10 to 20 seconds. Other symptoms, including snoring and restless sleep, often accompany sleep apnea. Snoring can be loud enough to wake you up at night, and it may cause your partner to feel uncomfortable. If you have sleep apnea, you may also experience daytime fatigue and irritability due to a lack of restful sleep. Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age — men and women, children and teens, and even the elderly. However, it's most common in adults over 60 years old. Causes of Sleep Apnea Here are the various risk factors: Excessive Weight One of the most common causes of sleep apnea is obesity. Excess weight can increase the risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when there is an obstruction to airflow into or out of your airw...