Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders and can be very serious. It is characterized by snoring and interrupted breathing during sleep. These interruptions often cause excessive daytime sleepiness and have far-reaching consequences for a person’s physical and mental health.

Each pause in breathing lasts 10 seconds or more and can occur 20 or more times an hour, potentially disrupting sleep hundreds of times a night. The breathing interruption occurs due to complete or partial blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep.

About 80 percent of patients with drug-resistant high blood pressure, 60 percent of stroke patients and about 50 percent of congestive heart failure patients suffer from OSA. A growing body of research points to the connection between insufficient sleep and other diseases including stroke, diabetes and depression. Lack of sleep also is a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes and workplace accidents.

Risk Factors

•     having a small upper airway (or large tongue, tonsils or uvula);
•     being overweight;
•     having a recessed chin, small jaw or a large overbite;
•     having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in a man; 16 inches or greater in a woman);
•     smoking and alcohol use;
•     being age 40 or older; and
•     ethnicity (African-Americans, Pacific-Islanders and Hispanics).

St. John’s Sleep Center conducts studies on Sunday through Friday nights. For more information, call (217) 757-6ZZZ (6999).