| Sleep Information Center |
Welcome:
7:24:04 PM on Saturday, 3rd January 2004
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What is Sleep Apnea
What is sleep apnea? Have you ever heard of sleep apnea? Sleep apnea comes from the greek word "apnea" which literally means "without breath". There are three different types of sleep apnea. The three types of sleep apnea are obstructive, central, and mixed of the three obstructive is the most common.
What is sleep apnea is getting to be a very common question as more
and more people become aware of this very common sleep disorder. People
with untreated sleep apnea actually stop breathing repeatedly during
the course of the evening. Sometimes they stop breathing hundreds of
times throughout the evening often for a minute or longer.
Sleep apnea is very common. Sleep apnea is actually as common as diabetes
is in adults in the United States. According to the national institutes
of health sleep apnea effects more than twelve million people in the
United States alone. Sleep apnea can strike any person at any time,
at any age, even children. The highest risk factor for sleep apnea victims
are male, overweight, and over age forty.
