Dr Oz gets serious about improving your sleep

Get Any Sleep Disorders Diagnosed and Treated

Sleep apnea doesn’t just make you groggy in the morning.  It can kill you.  And yet 80 percent of people estimated to suffer from sleep apnea are undiagnosed, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association.  In sleep apnea, people briefly stop breathing while they sleep, either because the soft tissue in their throat collapses or because their brain fails to signal their muscles to breathe.  This can cause an immediate danger, by triggering a heart attack, and can also slowly degrade your health over time by causing high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches and more.  It’s unclear why so many people leave this potentially deadly disease undiagnosed.  Perhaps they believe it only happens to overweight, middle-aged men.  Wrong!  As many as a quarter of sleep apnea sufferers are women.  Another hurdle: people may feel intimidated or embarrassed about going to a sleep center for an overnight sleep study.  While that is the gold standard for diagnosis, the good news is that home sleep apnea tests have gotten increasingly sophisticated.  Do you snore?  Wake up gasping for air?  Have morning headaches?  These are just a few symptoms of sleep apnea.  Consider them a wake up call to find a good sleep doctor and get tested and treated.