Sleep apnea is periodic collapse of the upper airway during sleep. It’s that simple. So basically about 10 centimeters of the airway, which is determined by the soft palate down to your just above your Adam’s apple, I guess in lay terms, that area of airway collapses at night and affects how well you sleep. So in very simple terms, that’s what it is. It’s a disease of age and weight, really. So the older you get, the worse it gets, the fat you get, the worse it gets.
So if you don’t treat it, you it leads to a whole lot of other medical medical issues, such as cardiovascular disease, heart disease, risk of stroke, diabetes. And there’s just a raft of other medical complaints that are related to obstructive sleep apnea and also a reciprocal relationship. So certainly fixing the sleep apnea does probably make you live longer. That’s important.
