S, HE LOSES? SLEEP APNEA
Take pity on the snorer. He may wreak havoc on his bunk-mate, but his snoring may also signal that something is going on under the hood. Not all people who snore have an underlying health problem. But those with sleep apnea, a disorder in which people momentarily stop breathing while they sleep, nearly always snore. Experts speculate that the number of people with the disorder is on the rise–up to 25 million Americans, most of them men–because of obesity. Although the disorder requires a visit to a sleep specialist to diagnose, the consequences of untreated sleep apnea are as serious as they are unexpected. A new study found that men with the disorder were twice as likely to be depressed as men without it. But breathing devices, lifestyle changes and surgery can improve the overall health of unknowing sufferers (not to mention that of their bedmates).