02/19/2026
For many adults, poor sleep has become a frustrating routine—snoring that rattles the walls, waking up gasping, morning headaches, or a constant sense of exhaustion no matter how early they turn in. While stress and busy schedules can certainly interfere with rest, physicians say one common and often overlooked cause is sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a medical condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. The most common form, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), occurs when throat muscles intermittently relax and block the airway. These pauses in breathing can happen dozens—even hundreds—of times a night, often without the sleeper realizing it.
In Stillwater, sleep medicine has been part of the healthcare landscape for more than two decades, thanks in large part to the work of Gilbert Emde, M.D. Dr. Emde began his medical career at Stillwater Medical in 1975 as a college freshman working in the emergency room. After completing medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and residency training in Wichita, he returned home in 1985 to open his own internal medicine practice.
Read more here: https://www.stillwater-medical.org/sleep-apnea-awareness-symptoms-solutions-and-care-close-to-home/
