Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea—more accurately, obstructive sleep apnea—is a condition in which your breathing stops during sleep for longer than 10 seconds and at least five times per hour. This condition occurs because something is blocking your upper airway, such your muscles or tongue. Here are the symptoms:

• Snoring that's interrupted with periods of quiet; snoring that resumes with a loud sound as breathing starts again.
• Morning headache
• Frequently falling asleep during the day.
• Depression; being easily irritated; difficulty remembering things.

The people I know with sleep apnea use a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine that provides a constant flow of air to help keep their airways open. If you have the condition, it also helps to avoid drinking alcohol or taking sedatives—behaviors that relax your muscles. If you do use a CPAP machine, I hope it's not made by Philips Respironics. The foam used inside those machines contain potentially cancer-causing particles that blow into the mouths and noses of users. After years of ignoring reports of cancer and other ailments, those machines have now been recalled.

One test of sleep apnea is called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, which determines your level of daytime sleepiness.

0-10 is normal; 11-14 is mild; 15-17 is moderate; 18 or higher is severe. If you scored 11 or higher, you may have a problem. Studies have shown that people who have sleep apnea and who use the CPAP machine improve their scores..

I fall asleep during educational TV; never while talking to someone or when stopped in traffic while driving! I scored four on the sleepiness scale.

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