This is a common question among patients frustrated by sleepless nights and drowsy days. If you snore, you may or may not have sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, you probably snore. Let me explain.
While you sleep, oral structures can relax and partially block your airway. When this happens, your breath vibrates loose tissues as it is forced in and out of the body. Snoring is the sound produced by the vibrations.
Sleep apnea literally means that you stop breathing while you sleep. Instead of partial blockage, relaxed or improperly positioned oral structures completely block your airway. In many cases, sleep apnea sufferers stop breathing for periods of 10 seconds or longer, and this happens repeatedly throughout the night. (more…)
