Definition for Sleep apnea
From Biology Forums Dictionary
1) Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder in which breathing stops during sleep and the person must awaken briefly to breathe. Its major symptoms are excessive daytime sleepiness and loud snoring.
2) Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low breathing event is called a hypopnea. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or "sleep study".