Do you get headaches in the morning? Do you feel a loss of energy or have trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, mood or behavior changes, anxiety or depression? These can be indicators of a dangerous and serious disease called sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea affects more than 12 million Americans. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing, in their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night for a minute or longer. There are three types of apnea:
1. The most common is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) which is caused by a blockage in the airway due to the relaxation and collapse of throat tissues during sleep. People who have OSA often have “loud, heavy snoring that is interrupted with choking sounds or loud snorts followed by periods of silence.” (provigil.com/sleep disorders).
2. Central which is where there is no blockage but the brain does not signal to the muscles to breathe.
3. Mixed which is a combination of Obstructive and Central.
One may not be aware that breathing is an issue at night. This disease is often discovered by someone who is around you while you are sleeping. When someone slips into sleep apnea, the brain signals to the person to start breathing again but the effect of this is staggered and poor quality sleep. If you have sleep apnea you may have some or all of the symptoms listed above.

If you are struggling to get a good night’s sleep consider some of the following risk factors that the National Institute of Health provide as those who are more apt to have sleep apnea:
1. Male
2. Overweight
3. Over 40 years of age
If you fall into this category and you are having some of the symptoms such as forgetfulness, morning headaches and anxiety, if sleep apnea is ignored it can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, stroke, psychiatric problems, and cognitive dysfunction.

Recent studies and research have drawn a correlation of Sleep Apnea and car accidents and increased danger to pregnant women. Alan Mulgrew, MD, of University of British Columbia in Vancouver, conducted research involving 800 patients with sleep apnea and 800 without. Studies lead Dr. Mulgrew and his colleagues to assess that sleep apnea patients were five times more likely to have a serious car accident than those without the disease. Another recent study related to sleep apnea and pregnant women was conducted my Hatim Youssef, DO, of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey-Rober wood Johnson Medical School. The conclusions drawn are as follows:
• “Women with sleep apnea were twice as likely as other women to have gestational diabetes.”
• “Women with sleep apnea were four times more likely than other women to have pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.”
If you think there is a chance that this disease is applicable to your situation, contact your doctor for a consultation. Sleep Apnea does have treatment options. To determine if you have sleep apnea, your doctor will run a series of test called Polysomnography. This will be conducted in a sleep lab. For mild cases of sleep apnea the doctor may suggest for you to stop sleeping on your back, decongestant therapy, weight reduction, and avoiding alcohol or sedative drugs. For more serious cases, surgery is an option.