What causes Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?
During sleep the muscles located at the back of the throat relax. In some people, these muscles relax to the point that the wall of the throat collapses; therefore, as they try to breathe, air cannot get in. Eventually, the effort of breathing wakes them up for a short period of time, and this may happen repeatedly throughout sleep, more than 100 times per hour (or hundreds of times each night). These people are often not aware of waking-up frequently to breathe, but even the mildest form of OSA can cause daytime sleepiness, poor memory and concentration, and depression.
