What Happens
Obstructive
sleep apnea (OSA) causes you to stop breathing (apnea)
for 10 seconds or longer during sleep. When your breathing stops, you may make
grunting, gasping, or snorting sounds and restless body movements. As breathing
resumes, loud
snoring starts. This may happen many times during a
night.
How many times you stop breathing while you sleep
determines the
severity of sleep apnea.
When you stop
breathing, the oxygen levels in your blood go down and
carbon dioxide levels go up. This makes your heart and
blood vessels work harder and can affect your heart rate and
nervous system. This in turn may lead to
other problems including
high blood pressure (hypertension) and
coronary artery disease (CAD). Sleep apnea can also
make these diseases worse and more difficult to treat. Sleep apnea also raises
your risk of having a stroke.3
Because
sleep apnea disturbs your sleep, it can make you very tired during the day. If
you have sleep apnea, you may:
- Be more likely to have a car
accident.
- Perform poorly at school or work and have difficulty
concentrating. You also may have memory problems.
- Have personality
changes, anxiety, and depression.
- Lose the desire for sex.
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