Trouble sleeping can lead to trouble with everyday activities and worse, a sleep disorder called sleep apnea can have serious health implications, least of which is daytime fatigue. Literally translated from the Greek, "apnea" means "without breath." Those who have sleep apnea literally stop breathing - sometimes for as long as a minute, and sometimes as frequently as a hundreds of times during the night - while sleeping. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sleep apnea is as common as adult diabetes - and like diabetes it often goes undiagnosed, putting sufferers at risk for greater health issues such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, headaches, memory problems, weight gain, and impotency. Those with undiagnosed sleep apnea are also at heightened risk for serious injury, which could occur as a result of an accident because their bodies and minds are exhausted from interrupted sleep. The NIH estimates that sleep apnea affects more than 12 million Americans, most of whom are men, overweight, and/or over the age of 40. Despite those risk factors being common, sleep apnea can affect anyone.Sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway, which forces the tissue in the back of one's throat to close during sleep. While the apnea sufferer may not realize that he or she is waking up and having trouble breathing continuously, often it is a bed partner who notices sleep apnea in a patient. It is not possible to completely prevent sleep apnea from developing; however there are several risk factors, some of which can be impacted by adopting healthy lifestyles. Statistics reveal that men are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than women before age 50. After age 50, the risk is the same in men and women. Among obese patients, 70 percent have obstructive sleep apnea. The apnea worsens as weight gain continues. Among cardiac patients, 30-50 percent develop sleep apnea, and among patients who have had strokes, 60 percent have obstructive sleep apnea.
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