Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is defined as the cessation of airflow during sleep due to obstruction of the upper airway. These periods of obstruction can become clinically significant if the cessations are frequent and occur more than 10 times per hour of sleep.
During sleep apnea, the blood oxygen levels significantly decrease due to this obstruction. This causes the brain to force the body to wake up and breathe. If these episodes frequent over 10 times per hour, it can lead to detrimental effects. Moreover, the patient can have difficulties to concentrate on work or driving, as they have not had proper quality sleep. A sleep recording is required to accurately diagnose sleep apnea.