Breathing Problems
Many Americans have breathing difficulties caused by things like allergies, asthma, and obstructive sleep apnea. The latter is when the upper airway of your respiratory system is obstructed during sleep by soft tissues collapsing into the throat, cutting off your air for at least 10 seconds. A sudden drop in oxygen to the brain will send a jolt through your body, waking you up.
People who have untreated obstructive sleep apnea often don’t realize that they are being jerked awake by their own body repeatedly throughout the night. Others may suffer from something called “nocturnal asthma,” which oftentimes leaves people feeling fatigued and irritable the next day, because they couldn’t breathe throughout the night.
