If you or someone you know suffers from sleep apnea, its important for you to understand how it could affect your health. First you need to determine if your sleep apnea is a health risk to seek further treatment.

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that collapses the airway of the sleep apnea sufferer. The condition is characterized by loud snoring and occurs most often in overweight males and other people whose necks are more than 17 inches in diameter.

Sleep Apnea and Sex

Sleep apnea can decrease your desire for sex and sexual arousal and cause less intense orgasms. After being treated for sleep apnea, patients have cited substantial improvements in their sex lives.

Daytime Drowsiness

Sleep apnea can also cause you be become sleepy during the day. Sleep can be interrupted as much as 20 to 30 times every night. Its possible for someone suffering from Sleep apnea to never get anymore than 10 minutes worth of sleep at a time during the 8 hour sleep period.

Sleep Apnea and Collisions

In a Canadian study of 800 Sleep apnea patients, it was found that they were almost five times more to be in a serious car accident than drivers who didnt suffer from Sleep apnea. Even mild suffers had the same risk. Seeking treatment right away is a must when suffering from Sleep apnea if you are at this risk.

Sleep Apnea and Diabetes

Sleep apnea can also add to your risk of diabetes. By having you airway collapse while sleeping, your breathing stops and the levels of oxygen in your blood drop.

Your brain tries to wake you up by flooding your bloodstream with a surge of hormones. You wake up, you go back to sleep, and the cycle repeats itself, again and again, until it’s time to get up in the morning.

The surge of chemicals and hormones that have been added in your bloodstream create stress hormones. Scientists believe these hormones can affect your bodys cells that make insulin. Insulin is a hormone related to diabetes.