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What Causes Sleep Apnea?

During sleep, muscles relax more than during waking hours. The muscles involved in breathing do the same. For some people with sleep apnea, their muscles in the throat area relax too much. The reason for this is still unknown. This compromises breathing and makes sleep time risky. Some people have narrower than normal throat passages, which causes the passage to close when the muscles relax. In still other cases, the trouble stems from the part of the brain that controls breathing during sleep. The brain forgets to send the necessary instructions to the muscles that control breathing.