Sleep apnea can be a terrifying condition from which to suffer, not usually if you are the one who suffers from it, but for a family member who lives with and witnesses it. Usually, it is accompanied by snoring, light sleeping, or possibly other restless bodily movements. When it occurs, you simply stop breathing. Your spouse may suddenly notice you are no longer snoring and become alarmed. It may last a few seconds, or even as long as two minutes. Your body forces you, in effect, to hold your breath while you are asleep. Sleep apnea is one way your body tells you that there is something physiological occurring with your breathing, and there are numerous, sometimes extremely impractical and even painful medical treatments for it. It may be beneficial, however, to listen to what your body is saying rather than merely try to treat the symptoms. Sleep apnea is basically your body telling you that it is getting too much oxygen (that is also the reason you are snoring – mucus has developed in excess in your nostrils to try to slow down the oxygen flow). Oxygen is a good element and is necessary for organ vitality. But too much of anything isn’t good for anyone, and in the case of taking in too much oxygen, also known as hyperventilation, too much means that the carbon dioxide you don’t exhale isn’t allowed to do its job. While the process of using oxygen in your cells produces carbon dioxide that we exhale, some of it remains in our blood in order to regulate how much oxygen is used in our cells. When oxygen floods the system, the carbon dioxide that remains in the blood is overwhelmed, and not able to regulate effectively. For some...