The Dangers of Sleep Apnea

Source - healthnews.com

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects approximately 18 million Americans. Sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep—often for as long as a minute or more, and up to hundreds of times during the night. Of the three types of apnea that include obstructive, central, and mixed, the most common type is obstructive. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, such as occurs when the soft tissue located in the back of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. With central sleep apnea, the brain fails to signal muscles to breathe, and mixed apnea is a combination of the two problems. Although the brain will arouse a person who experiences an apnea event to get them to resume breathing, the sleep disruption causes poor sleep quality. 

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