President Biden is using a CPAP machine to treat sleep apnea, the White House announced Wednesday. The news was revealed after reporters noticed marks on the president's face, the BBC reports. The marks are from the mask he wears at night as part of the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, which pumps air into the mask steadily and gently throughout the night to keep airways open. "Since 2008, the President has disclosed his history with sleep apnea in thorough medical reports," a White House spokesman said in a statement. Officials later confirmed Biden has been using a CPAP for several weeks.
As CNN reports, millions of people have sleep apnea, a disorder in which people can stop breathing for 10 seconds, or longer, at a time while asleep. As a result, those who have the disorder might experience dozens of so-called "micro-awakenings" in one night, making it difficult to complete an entire sleep cycle. If not treated, it has been linked to an increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, or early death, but when treated—and a CPAP device is one of the most common forms of treatment—sleep cycles can be completed and patients can return to experiencing deep sleep, returning their sleep to normal and decreasing their risk for related ailments. (More President Biden stories.)
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