Older children who have OSA may seem sluggish and may perform poorly in school. Sometimes they are labeled "slow" or "lazy". Other times,they are labeled as having Attention-Deficit Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD and ADHD). It is estimated that up to 25% of children with ADD or ADHD may have OSAS.

Since it is not normal for a child to snore loudly every night, parents should report their child's snoring to a healthcare professional.

What causes OSA?
When you sleep, all of your body's muscles relax more than they do during waking hours. This doesn't

cause problems for most people, but in some people this relaxation lets the airway in the back of the throat become too narrow and this interferes with breathing. Sleep then becomes a time of increased health risk. A smaller-than-normal jaw, overbite, large tongue, enlarged tonsils, or tissues that partially block the entrance to the airway can be factors. Sometimes several of these conditions are present in the same person.

Alcohol, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers taken at bedtime also reduce muscle tone and can make the throat more likely to collapse. Some people with OSAS may actually have more disturbed sleep when they take sleeping pills.

While most people with OSA have no apparent physical flaw that interferes with their breathing during sleep, chronic physical conditions can play a role.

OSA most often strikes overweight men. A different throat structure or levels of hormones may protect women. In later years, the gap between the sexes narrows, although it never disappears completely.

What happens if I am not treated for OSA?
A list of some of the known consequences of untreated OSAS:
Excessive daytime sleepiness

- Disturbed sleep