Sleep apnea is a disorder that affects over 6 million Americans. Twenty-four percent of men and nine percent of women suffer from the disorder.

The disorder can be irritating for some, and is partly responsible for over 38,000 deaths a year.

When Kay Wright was diagnosed with sleep apnea, the disorder affected more than just her sleep pattern.

Sleeping disorders increase your risk of sleep debt--the amount of time your body misses sleep.  This increase can build up throughout the week.

Sleep apnea is diagnosed by doctors who monitor sleeping habits through machines.

The St. Mary's Sleep Center helps about 2,000 patients a year with sleep disorders. However, sleep apnea cannot be cured overnight.

"I would say treating for the most part is what we do. We cannot cure sleep apnea, we can manage it, we can treat it," Kendra Simmons of St. Mary's. said.  "St. Mary's sleep clinic has six hotel-style rooms to monitor patients. The only difference is a hotel doesn't have machines monitoring your sleep habits throughout the night."

Four Nevada clinics are closed because of a possible Hepatitis-C outbreak.

Clark County officials suspended the clinics' licenses after six people contracted the disease.

They said the clinics, which are run by the same group, practiced unsafe procedures such as reusing needles.

Health officials said they are encouraging the clinics' 40,000 patients to get tested for a variety of diseases, including hepatitis and HIV.