When we sleep, the combination of gravity and our muscles relaxing allows the tongue and surrounding soft tissues to fall back into the throat, obstructing airflow in your airway. This can pause your breathing, and these pauses are called apneas.

The word ‘apnea’ means without breath. A person may have partial pauses in breathing (hypopneas), or complete pauses (apneas) that last 10 seconds or longer during sleep. These pauses in breathing are often accompanied by a drop in blood oxygen level.

The struggle to breathe and the drop in oxygen saturation will eventually cause the person to momentarily wake up, opening the throat, and allowing them to breathe again. These awakenings are brief and typically not remembered the next morning. Longer apneas may cause the sufferer to fully awaken to a frightening feeling of choking. This pattern can occur hundreds of times per night, interrupting the body’s normal sleep cycle and preventing the deep, restorative sleep our bodies need.

Some of the short-term consequences of sleep apnea are excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of energy, poor concentration, irritability, slowed reflexes, and an increased risk of accidents.

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