Do you suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness? Do you wake up several times throughout the night? Has a partner told you that you stop breathing or gasp in your sleep? All of these symptoms and more could mean that you have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a chronic medical condition that has serious effects on a person’s long term health and quality of life. With this disorder, your tongue and soft palate relax during sleep and block your airway. This can cause you to stop breathing for several seconds to even minutes in severe cases. Once your brain realizes breathing has stopped, it will signal you to wake up in order to breathe again. This process will continue throughout the night, thus disrupting your necessary sleep cycle and can lead to very serious health conditions.