Sleep apnea is a breathing-related sleep disorder that causes brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. These interruptions can last 10 seconds or more and can occur up to 400 times per night. Sleep apnea is a serious and potentially life threatening condition that often goes unrecognized and undiagnosed. Sleep apnea occurs in both sexes and across all age groups. Not all sleep apnea is the same, a diagnosis of sleep apnea can range from mild to severe. 

Sleep apnea is serious because shots of adrenaline are going into the heart 20-400 times per night to re-start your breathing. Sleep is when your body is supposed to rest, and this increased stress causes an overload for the heart, possibly leading to a heart attack or stroke. 

Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea are obvious (snoring, etc.) while some symptoms such as loss of sex drive and irritability may be less of a signal that something is interfering with sleep. Here is a list of some of the symptoms of sleep apnea:

• loud snoring
• morning headaches/nausea
• gasping/choking while asleep
• loss of sex drive/impotence
• excessive daytime sleepiness
• irritability/depression
• disturbed sleep
•  concentration difficulty/memory loss
• excessive urination at night
• restless leg syndrome

​Many patients ask us advice on mattresses. Questions like "When should we replace our old one?" and "Which mattress should we get?" are questions we hear weekly at our offices.
 
Most mattresses have about 10 useable years when you buy them. Pillows are good anywhere from 18 months to 2 years. The best answer for "When should we replace our old mattress?" is when you wake up feeling worse than when you went to bed. Sleep is supposed to restore you. You and your body should feel better  after a good night sleep.
 
You spend anywhere from 25-33% of your life asleep in bed. That means that in the next 10 years, you will spend 3 of those years on your mattress (except for that weekend you had to sleep on your cousins futon and had to come in to see your favorite chiropractors right after).  With this in mind, it makes sense to invest in a good bed.