According to a National Institutes of Health study, most people believe that sleep apnea is caused by a sagging soft pallet or by some other obstructive tissue in the throat. Actually, it’s the result of a diminishing signal from the brain to the diaphragm (causing one to breathe) that can occur during the transition from initial semi-wakefulness into the next stage of lighter sleep prior to REM sleep. In some people, the unintended reduction in the signal is significant enough

that breathing goes beyond being shallow and completely stops.

After a short period of time, the brain, realizing the need to breathe, forces a rapid inhalation to restart respiration that literally drags the sagging localized soft tissues into the airway, as reported in Sleep Apnea: A New Approach to an Emergent Problem by Master Herbalist Steven Frank, of Nature’s Rite. For some, there’s no indication of potential problems when they are awake as the tissues remain in their normal state and the throat doesn’t close off during the day or when relaxing or resting, but then they can experience an obstruction problem when trying to go to sleep.