We often hear about how eating a balanced diet and doing some form regular physical activity is important in maintaining our health long term, particularly when it comes to managing diabetes. There is an increasing amount of evidence that suggests there is another central player influencing our health that we should be take into equal consideration – sleep. Sleep is vital to many of our bodily functions and with an estimated 45% of Australian’s suffering from inadequate sleep, it is something worth paying attention to.

Obstructive sleep apnoea is present when the airway at the back of the mouth repeatedly partly or completely obstructs during sleep. Your breathing is reduced or may stop altogether. The oxygen level then falls and you wake up briefly to start breathing again.