Sleep Apnea Sleep is essential to life; it is one of several components, including food and water, which keep the living alive. However, a significant percentage of the human population has considerable difficulty reaching and maintaining Stage IV within their sleeping patterns, the stage that allows the mind and body to fall into a deep and restorative sleep, otherwise known as REM sleep. At the core of this difficulty is a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea, a "serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood" Sleep Apnea. Indeed, obstructive sleep apnea can be very dangerous...
existing experiments have determined that physiological standards within the sleeping subject have "changed abruptly" Murray 303 in the forty-five minutes that follow the onset of Stage IV. Indications of this are that the EEG reading is maladjusted and the eyes flit from one side to the other in a rapid fashion, which is indicative of REM sleep.

Clearly, those with sleep apnea that have difficulty entering or staying within Stage IV indicates fragmented or disturbed sleep patterns. As a result, researchers are "becoming increasingly aware of the adverse effects of sleep deprivation" Weck 12 due to obstructive sleep apnea.