SNORE - SILENCE - GASP

People who have sleep apnea are often terribly loud snorers, but not all! And not all snorers have sleep apnea! There are some structural physical features that have been associated with snoring and/or sleep apnea: small jaw, large tongue, overbite, enlarged tonsils, excess tissue blocking airway When we sleep, muscles in the throat relax and collapse, this blocks our airway. A partial collapse of the airway causes snoring, a complete collapse causes apnea. This is what ends up happening all night long for most sufferes of sleep apnea: You fall asleep-> there may be loud, disruptive snoring->all breathing and snoring stops->heart rate slows-> body becomes alarmed and says "HEY! WAKE UP!"->you wake up->catch your breath(gasp)->go back to sleep/snoring (information compiled from author Dr. Nancy Foldvary-Schafe, DO)