With the news of yet another train accident - in this instance an Amtrak crash that killed two and injured 116 on Feb. 5 in South Carolina - many experts agree it’s time to talk about sleep apnea. Sleep apnea has been found to be a cause of a number of similary accidents in the past, but until now little has been done to address the problem. Starting January 23, 2018, the New York and Atlantic Railway began screening engineers and conductors for the sleeping disorder.

Sleep apnea affects over 100 million people worldwide, and many researchers believe the disorder is still largely undiagnosed. Two of the most well-known and common risk factors are obesity and advanced age. Researchers in Portugal published an article in the medical journal Trends in Molecular Medicine expressing their concern that as human life expectancy continues to increase, the need for delaying or stopping the onset of age-related diseases becomes more important than ever. The research team believes that sleep apnea is connected to the onset of some of the most concerning age-related diseases.

Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. However, when it comes to passing along information that isn't true, it can be frustrating and at times downright dangerous. Sleep apnea is a serious condition and if not diagnosed can lead to a host of problems. One of the reasons Dr. Buck is so passionate about caring for patients with sleep apnea is the many myths that surround the disorder. Here are five myths about sleep apnea you should know about: