Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms & How to Improve Sleep Quality

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, leading to fragmented sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Key causes include pharyngeal muscle relaxation and structural airway narrowing, with risk factors like obesity, craniofacial abnormalities, large neck circumference, smoking, alcohol, and hypothyroidism.
• Symptoms range from severe daytime fatigue, lack of concentration, and unintentional sleep episodes to loud snoring, gasping, morning headaches, and cognitive impairment.
• Untreated OSA increases risks of accidents, memory issues, irritability, depression, and poor academic performance in children.
• Management involves CPAP therapy, significant weight loss, positional therapy (side-sleeping), and avoiding alcohol and sedatives to improve sleep quality and overall health.

Why It Matters: OSA causes fragmented sleep and daytime fatigue; manage with CPAP, weight loss, and lifestyle changes for better health.