Many of us have to battle the war on weight. It is unfortunately one of the growing health problems in our society. While excess weight can lead to a number of health issues – the one that concerns our ability to sleep well is connected to sleep apnea.

This can be a very difficult and even dangerous problem. The technical definition of sleep apnea is the body temporarily stops breathing. Sometimes this cessation of breathing is not permanent and you can suffocate in your sleep. This is caused by something blocking the airway to the lungs; usually excess tissue in the mouth or throat, your tongue, over sized tonsils, and the relaxing and constricting of airway muscles. Excess weight on the throat and chest can attribute to these complications.

Here are list of some of the side effects of sleep apnea:

Loud snoring – This is the most common side effect of sleep apnea. This is not just your average snore, this is a loud, deep, wake the dead, snore. You may not hear it, but it is probably a safe bet that your bed partner will notice and make you aware of it.

Morning headaches – Upon waking you have a splitting headache. Sometimes these can progress to migraines. This is the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Non-refreshing sleep – Upon waking you felt as though you have not gotten any sleep. This is caused by your REM sleep cycle being continually interrupted by your body trying to wake you up when you stop breathing. You may not remember actively waking, but your body does wake itself up so you will start breathing again. Your body gets its rest during REM sleep and if this is interrupted, you will not get any useful rest.

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