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Learn about the warning signs, health risks, and treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and how our five-step program helps guide diagnosis and ongoing care.
From your first conversation to ongoing follow-up, our team helps you understand your sleep and choose an approach suited to your diagnosis.
Start your evaluationWe review your background, medical history, and symptoms, and discuss what has been happening with your sleep.
When appropriate, sleep testing helps confirm whether sleep apnea is present and guides the next stage of your care.
We explain the available options and how they relate to your diagnosis, health, preferences, and daily routine.
You begin the recommended treatment with support from our team. Treatment starts before the final follow-up step.
We review your progress, check how treatment is working, and address comfort or equipment issues when they arise.
There are two primary types of sleep apnea: obstructive and central. In adults, an apnea is a pause in airflow lasting at least 10 seconds. Repeated breathing interruptions can fragment sleep, sometimes without a person noticing.
Understanding the type of sleep apnea matters because the cause and recommended treatment may differ.
OSA occurs when the upper airway narrows or closes during sleep. Relaxed throat muscles, the tongue, and surrounding soft tissues can contribute to the blockage, reducing or stopping airflow.
These episodes may happen repeatedly throughout the night, briefly disrupting sleep as breathing resumes.
Central sleep apnea involves a disruption in the signals that control breathing effort. The interruption is different from the physical airway blockage seen in OSA.
It can be associated with conditions such as heart failure or stroke, opioid medicines, and exposure to high altitude. A sleep specialist evaluates the cause.
Symptoms can show up at night and carry into the next day. Someone who sleeps nearby may notice breathing changes before you do.
Persistent snoring, particularly when interrupted by pauses and followed by gasping.
Falling asleep at inappropriate times or struggling to stay alert.
Memory difficulties, trouble concentrating, irritability, or depression.
Headaches, dry mouth, or a sore throat after waking; mention other symptoms such as nausea to your clinician.
Frequent trips to the bathroom or new bedwetting warrant discussion with a clinician.
Reduced interest in sex or erectile difficulties can accompany sleep problems.
Waking during the night to urinate is called nocturia. It can occur with sleep apnea, but it can also have other causes.
For some people with both conditions, treating sleep apnea may reduce nighttime bathroom visits. An evaluation can help identify which factors are affecting your sleep.
Tell your clinician about bathroom visits, snoring, witnessed breathing pauses, and how you feel during the day.
Use these questions to start a conversation with your sleep specialist. Symptoms alone do not confirm OSA; an evaluation and, when appropriate, sleep testing are needed.
Discuss your symptomsWhen breathing is interrupted, the body may briefly wake to restore airflow. These awakenings can be so short that you do not remember them, yet repeated disruptions can leave you tired the next day—even after a nap.
Snoring can signal a partly blocked airway, but it does not establish a diagnosis by itself. Ask a bed partner whether they have noticed pauses, gasping, or changes in your breathing.
Untreated OSA can impair attention and increase crash risk. If you feel sleepy behind the wheel, stop driving and arrange a safe alternative. Discuss persistent daytime sleepiness with your clinician.
Learn about sleep testingUntreated OSA is associated with health concerns that extend beyond a disrupted night. Your sleep and medical history help guide a complete evaluation.
OSA and atrial fibrillation (AFib) often occur together. Sleep-related breathing disturbances can place stress on the cardiovascular system.
If you have AFib, discuss sleep symptoms with your care team. Managing OSA may be part of coordinated care, but treatment does not guarantee that AFib will resolve or stay away.
Reduced libido and erectile dysfunction can occur alongside sleep apnea. These concerns can also have other medical or psychological causes.
A private conversation with your clinician can help identify contributing factors and appropriate next steps.
These associations are reasons to seek care, not a prediction of what will happen to any one person.
Treatment can improve sleep-related symptoms and support your health. The right approach depends on the severity of OSA, your symptoms, medical history, airway anatomy, and individual needs.
Houston Sleep Health helps you understand the options so you can make an informed decision. Your care may include one approach or a combination of treatments.
Sleeping on your side may help selected people whose snoring or airway obstruction is worse on their back. Your clinician may also discuss head elevation and sleep habits. These measures do not replace evaluation or other prescribed treatment.
Explore this optionWhen excess weight contributes to airway narrowing, weight management may be part of your care. Fatigue and disrupted sleep can make routines and appetite harder to manage. A supported plan addresses your health and sleep together.
Explore this optionPAP delivers air through a mask to help hold the airway open during sleep. Mask fit and pressure settings are individualized. Our team can review comfort, equipment, and treatment data; the time needed to adjust varies from person to person.
Explore this optionAn oral appliance can move the lower jaw forward to help keep the airway open. It may suit selected people with OSA. A sleep physician and qualified dental provider coordinate fitting, adjustment, and follow-up; a generic mouthguard is not a substitute.
Explore this optionFor eligible people with obesity and OSA, medication may be considered as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Your clinician reviews the specific medicine, indication, potential benefits, side effects, and how it fits with other care.
Explore this optionAn implanted device stimulates a nerve that controls tongue movement to help maintain an open airway. Options such as Inspire and Genio require a specialist evaluation and specific eligibility criteria. Your physician can discuss whether an implant is suitable.
Explore this optionTell us about discomfort, mask leaks, persistent tiredness, or other concerns. Follow-up helps us assess effectiveness and discuss adjustments or alternatives. Do not change or stop prescribed therapy without speaking with your clinician.
Surgery may be considered for selected patients. Depending on the airway anatomy, a procedure may remove obstructing tissue or reposition the jaw to create more space for breathing.
Suitability and results vary with the procedure, anatomy, and severity of OSA. Your sleep specialist can explain how surgery compares with PAP or other options and arrange an appropriate specialist referral.
Follow-up remains important to determine whether sleep apnea is adequately controlled after treatment.
Discuss your treatment optionsIf you notice snoring, breathing pauses, or daytime sleepiness, our team can help you understand what may be happening and whether sleep testing is appropriate.
Start a conversation about your symptoms, treatment options, and the next step in your care.
