When you have a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, it does a lot more than cause fatigue due to a lack of quality of sleep. Because, when you lack the right amount of sleep, your immune system is also impacted in a number of ways, such as slowing down your immune system.  Poor Sleep Inhibits T Cells Your T cells are part of your immune system. These cells specifically fight off viral pathogens, from the regular flu to cancer. But, without enough sleep, your body's T cells become inhibited by higher levels of stress hormones—specifically, noradrenaline and adrenaline—which makes your...

While you may be just one of the tens of millions of Americans that suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there’s one group you are more likely to be in than others: veterans. According to the Sleep Disorder Center at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center, veterans are highly impacted by sleep apnea and are almost 4X as likely to suffer from the sleep disorder than most other groups of Americans.  The group estimates that about 20% of veterans are coping with sleep apnea and so this particular respiratory disorder is one of the most common service-connected disabilities on record....