Sleep Apnea
Common Questions & Answers
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a mechanical problem that blocks the airway. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain fails to send necessary messages to muscles that control breathing. And complex sleep apnea is a combination of the two.
Symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, dry mouth upon waking, morning headaches, daytime fatigue, irritability, and issues with concentration and memory. People with sleep apnea also stop breathing briefly during sleep, leading to repetitive snorting and gasping for air.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, glaucoma, cancer, and depression. It can also increase your risk of daytime accidents due to chronic fatigue.
To diagnose sleep apnea, your doctor begins by gathering your full medical history and conducting a physical examination. After these steps they may request a sleep study, known as a polysomnography, either in a sleep disorders clinic or at home.
Lifestyle changes, including losing weight (especially in people with obesity), exercising regularly, quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol and sedative medications later in the day, and sleeping on your side, can help alleviate symptoms of sleep apnea.

Chester Wu, MD
Medical Reviewer
Chester Wu, MD, is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. He cares for patients through his private practice in Houston, where he provides evaluations, medication management, and therapy for psychiatric and sleep medicine conditions.
After training at the Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Wu established the first sleep medicine program within a psychiatric system in the United States while at the Menninger Clinic in Houston.

Abhinav Singh, MD
Medical Reviewer
Abhinav Singh, MD, is a board-certified sleep medicine specialist and the medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center. He is also an associate clinical professor at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indianapolis, where he developed and teaches a sleep medicine rotation.
Dr. Singh’s research and clinical practice focus on sleep disorders, including excessive daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia, and sleep education.
Singh is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Sleep Health (from the National Sleep Foundation) and the Journal of Sleep Disorders: Treatment and Care, and is coauthor of the book Sleep to Heal: 7 Simple Steps to Better Sleep. He has received several Top Doctor recognitions and is the sleep specialist for the Indiana Pacers NBA team.
He lives in the Indianapolis area and enjoys music production and racquet sports.

Daniel Barone, MD
Medical Reviewer
Daniel Barone, MD, is the associate medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he is also an associate attending neurologist. In addition, he is an associate professor of clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. He specializes in the evaluation and management of patients with all forms of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, insomnia, and narcolepsy.
He received his medical degree from New York Medical College in 2006 after graduating summa cum laude from Fordham University in 2001. He completed an internship in internal medicine at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in 2007. The majority of his neurology training was also at St. Vincent's, where he was named chief resident. After St. Vincent's closed in March 2010, he completed his residency in neurology at Beth Israel Medical Center in June 2010, followed by a fellowship in sleep disorders at Stony Brook University Medical Center.
He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both neurology and sleep medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and a fellow of both the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Neurological Association.
Dr. Barone is the first author of multiple peer-reviewed publications on a variety of topics in sleep medicine. He has appeared in interviews on CNN and CBS News. His first book, Let’s Talk About Sleep, was published in 2018, and his second book, The Story of Sleep: From A to Zzz, was published in 2023.

Alex Dimitriu, MD
Medical Reviewer
Alex Dimitriu, MD, is dual board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. He helps his patients optimize peak performance by day and peak restorative sleep by night, and he brings a deep respect for science and spirituality into his work.
Dr. Dimitriu has been recognized by The New York Times, Discover magazine, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and NBC News, among other media outlets. He is a medical reviewer for Business Insider and the Sleep Foundation, and is a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of Sleep Medicine.
- Sleep Apnea. Mayo Clinic. April 6, 2023.
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