The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Obesity

[Linda]

Do overweight people have a higher chance of snoring and sleep apnea?

If you are like us, you sleep next to someone who snores really badly. This can be hard for you to fall asleep at night. One of the things that can cause this horrendous snoring is what is called sleep apnea. This is caused by a lot of things. There has been noted that there is a link between asthma and sleep apnea.

However, one of the biggest causes of sleep apnea has been well noted that people who suffer from being obese have a higher risk of developing sleep apnea. If you aren't sure what sleep apnea is, this is when a person actually quits breathing at night. They only stop for a short period, but it's enough to make them snore and more.

Wondering why they say that an obese person has a higher risk of this? Well, the reason is because of the excess fat. The term obese means that a person has a lot of fat on them. Therefore, the fat that is there will actually block the throat and then blocks the airways. When this happens, the airway passages then collapse.

While sixty to seventy percent of all people who have sleep apnea are obese, they can't say that this is a cause. We might have just confused you there. See, they can't say that that is the whole reason because some people might have had sleep apnea before. One of the actual symptoms of sleep apnea is that the person gains weight. Therefore, it could be a symptom, or it could be a cause. Researchers are still studying this.

Those who have found that they think it is all due to the fact that they are obese have made a stand and are doing what they can. Some get the nice little machine that breathes for you at night. Many find this irritating. They don't want to sleep with a mask on. They don't want to lay next to someone who has that mask on for they fell that it will hinder their sleep. Therefore, a lot of people have tried to lose weight. Of those who have lost weight, they have found that they have had a lot of success and that their sleep apnea had gone away after that. Who would have thought?

So, if you think that you have sleep apnea and that you are obese, you might try shedding some pounds to see if that could help. If that isn't an option or you want other options, you can have a study done that can tell you if you do in fact have sleep apnea and then you can go and get the machine that they give to many people who have this condition. What this machine does is breathes for you when you stop breathing. If sleep apnea goes undiagnosed it can actually kill you in your sleep. It's not something that you want to play with. Take it from us. So, stop it before it could really stop you.