Sleep Apnea and the Military

I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to have sleep apnea while serving in the armed forces. Getting limited rest each night due to sleep apnea must make it very difficult to function in a job that requires such physical activity.  But with over 20 million Americans suffering from OSA it is understandable that is a large percentage of them in the military. As a matter of fact, the number of sleep apnea patients in the military has been increasing according to an article in USA Today site.

In 2010 the number of soldiers having sleep apnea increased by 61 percent which translates in a cost of around 500 million. The cost of sleep apnea is from such things as heart disease, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure among other things.

Why the increase in sleep apnea?

The reason is probably the same for military personnel and those who aren’t in the military, people just don’t get tested for it. They may thing that there problem is just snoring and nothing else, they don’t realize the danger associated with OSA. Another increase in sleep apnea is due to the fact that many gain excess weight after leaving the military, which is a big cause for sleep apnea.

Veterans who developed sleep apnea while on active duty receive a disability check each month for having OSA.

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