sleep apnea

the temporary cessation of breathing while asleep, which occurs when the upper airway briefly becomes blocked (obstructive sleep apnea) or when the respiratory centers in the brain fail to stimulate respiration (central sleep apnea). It can cause severe daytime sleepiness, and evidence is building that untreated severe sleep apnea may be associated with high blood pressure and risk for stroke and heart attack. See also breathing-related sleep disorder.

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Psychology term of the day

November 15th 2024

orthogonal contrast

in a factorial analysis of variance, a set of nonredundant comparisons among the mean values for different samples. In other words, the set contains no overlapping information, so that the results from one comparison provide no information about the results of the second comparison. Also called orthogonal comparison.