All About Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that makes it difficult to breathe while you sleep. It can disrupt your sleep more than 30 times a night, leading to pauses in breathing, gasping, waking up with headaches, feeling foggy and tired during the day, and, of course, excessive snoring that might keep your partner awake.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea: This is the most common form of sleep apnea. It happens when the tissues in the back of the throat collapse and block the airway while sleeping.
- Central Sleep Apnea: This form occurs due to a disruption in the communication between your brain and the muscles involved in breathing, which leads to breathing problems.
There are two main types of sleep apnea:
What Are the Benefits of Sleep Apnea Treatment?
A good night’s sleep is essential for emotional and physical well being. Even if you can’t remember waking up during the night, sleep apnea can still disturb your sleep cycle. This disruption can have both short term and long term effects on your health, relationships, and overall quality of life. In addition to getting better sleep, here are some other benefits of sleep apnea treatment:
Better Physical Health
Treating your sleep apnea can lower your risk of high blood pressure, heart problems, type 2 diabetes, liver issues, and reduce stress on your metabolic system. It may also decrease the extra risk involved with surgery or medication.
Feel Like Normal Again
Do you sometimes feel forgetful or struggle to find the right words? Sleep apnea can leave you feeling groggy, as if you’re stuck in a brain fog all day. With treatment, many patients report feeling sharper, more focused, and back to their normal selves.
Strengthen Your Relationships
Treating your sleep apnea benefits both you and your partner. By reducing or stopping your snoring and restlessness, your partner will enjoy a more peaceful, uninterrupted night of sleep. Both of you will wake up in a better mood, making everyday activities like parenting, work, and relationships much more enjoyable. Your positive mood is contagious.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
There are several treatment options for sleep apnea depending on its cause and severity. It’s also important to find a solution that works well with your lifestyle.
Lifestyle Changes
For mild cases, sleep apnea can be treated at home. Your dentist may suggest weight loss, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, changing your sleeping position, practicing good sleep hygiene, and quitting smoking. These recommendations are effective and often recommended alongside other treatments.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
CPAP is the most common treatment for sleep apnea. It involves wearing a mask over your nose and/or mouth while you sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that provides a constant stream of air, keeping your airways open. There are different types of masks and machines available depending on your needs and comfort.
Oral Appliances
These are mouthpieces worn during sleep, similar to a mouthguard. They work by repositioning your jaw, stabilizing your tongue, or preventing snoring. The type of appliance used depends on the cause of your sleep apnea symptoms.
Surgery and Medication
In some cases, sleep apnea may require surgery or medication. Surgical treatments might include repairing a deviated septum, correcting a narrow airway, or adjusting the jaw to relieve blockages in the throat.
Contact us today
to schedule an initial consultation & exam.
Your consultation will include an examination of everything from your teeth, gums and soft tissues to the shape and condition of your bite. Generally, we want to see how your whole mouth looks and functions. Before we plan your treatment we want to know everything about the health and aesthetic of your smile, and most importantly, what you want to achieve so we can help you get there.
Frequently Asked Questions
The symptoms of sleep apnea mainly involve difficulty getting restful sleep. Some signs include:
- Snoring loudly or often
- Pauses in breathing while asleep
- Waking up choking or gasping
- Frequent trips to the bathroom during the night
- Waking up feeling unsatisfied with sleep
- During the day, you may experience headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritability, memory problems, or a decline in sexual desire.
Sleep apnea can have several causes. In adults, the most common type is obstructive sleep apnea, often caused by excess weight or obesity. However, there are other potential causes, so it’s essential to be evaluated by a professional to determine the specific type and cause of sleep apnea.
Even if you don’t remember waking up, sleep apnea may still be disturbing your sleep. When your oxygen levels drop, your brain briefly wakes you up to help open your airway. These brief awakenings happen so quickly that you might not remember them, but they can happen more than 30 times a night, leaving you feeling groggy the next morning.
You might be at a higher risk for sleep apnea if:
- You are overweight
- You are male
- You have a family history of sleep apnea or poor sleep
- You use alcohol or sleeping pills
- You smoke or have nasal congestion
Sleep apnea is also more common in older adults.
Research suggests that sleeping on your side (lateral position) is the best sleeping position for relieving sleep apnea and reducing snoring.
Although obstructive sleep apnea is more common in overweight individuals, it can also occur in people who are not overweight. There are multiple causes of sleep apnea, and thin people can develop the disorder as well.
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