Sleep: The Killer
It's true. We all know sleep deprivation robs us of health and energy. But did you know it can also kill? It's called sleep apnea and it sneaks up on you in the middle of the night, especially if you are overweight, male, black or Latino. Sleep apnea is a disorder that is characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing throughout the sleep cycle, experts say. Sometimes you even stop breathing. That's where the death part comes in. According to experts, those with this disorder can stop breathing anywhere from 10 seconds to whole minutes and can occur from five to 30 times -- a night? An hour. Experts estimate about 12 million in the U.S. have it, including one in 10 kids Most people who have it don't even know it, though their partners do. It often results in heavy snoring or something worse, sleep paralysis, where people become so afraid of falling asleep that they can't, leading to fatigue, lack of alertness, depression, even ...