Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person to have pauses in breathing, or very shallow breathing during sleep. Some of these breathing pauses can last for longer than a minute, and when normal breathing starts again, it often starts with a loud snore or a choking sound.
When you have sleep apnea, you sleep lightly and have difficulty moving into deep sleep. In other words, sleep quality is terrible when you have sleep apnea, and it makes you tired during the day. Furthermore, it can lead to heart problems, and in rare cases, even death.
Sleep apnea is also associated with erectile dysfunction. Men who have erectile dysfunction are more than twice as likely to suffer from sleep apnea as men who do not have erectile dysfunction. Conversely, over 60% of men who have severe sleep apnea also have erectile dysfunction. When oxygen levels repeatedly drop during sleep because of sleep apnea, endothelial dysfunction results.
Endothelial dysfunction means that blood vessels (including blood vessels serving the reproductive organs) have difficulty regulating blood flow, and inadequate blood flow is the primary reason for erectile dysfunction. The good news is, treating the sleep apnea effectively can also improve erection health.