All About Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that disrupts your breathing during sleep, potentially occurring more than 30 times a night. It’s often marked by excessive snoring, gasping for air, frequent awakenings, morning headaches, and daytime fatigue.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): The most common type, caused by the collapse of throat tissues that block the airway during sleep.
- Central Sleep Apnea (CSA): A less common type, caused by disrupted signals between the brain and the muscles that control breathing.
Types of Sleep Apnea:
Sleep apnea not only affects your rest but can also impact your overall health, making timely diagnosis and treatment essential.
What Are the Benefits of Sleep Apnea Treatment?
A good night’s sleep is vital for emotional and physical well-being, yet sleep apnea disrupts your sleep cycle—even if you don’t remember waking up. Treating sleep apnea offers numerous benefits that extend beyond just restful sleep.
Better Physical Health
Sleep apnea treatment reduces the risk of serious health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver problems. It also eases stress on your metabolic system and lowers risks associated with surgery or certain medications.
Improved Mental Clarity
Sleep apnea can leave you feeling groggy, forgetful, and trapped in a fog of fatigue. Treatment helps restore mental sharpness, focus, and energy, making you feel like yourself again.
Strengthened Relationships
Reducing snoring and restlessness not only improves your sleep but also benefits your partner’s quality of rest. Both of you wake up in better moods, ready to enjoy parenting, work, and daily life with renewed energy and positivity. Addressing sleep apnea doesn’t just improve sleep—it enhances every aspect of your life.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
There are several options for treating sleep apnea depending on the cause and severity of your apnea. It’s also important for us to find a solution that suits your lifestyle.
Lifestyle Changes
Mild cases of sleep apnea can often be treated at home. A dentist may recommend lifestyle adjustments such as losing weight, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, changing your sleep position, following sleep hygiene practices, and quitting smoking. These recommendations are safe and effective, and they are often used alongside other treatments.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
The most common treatment for sleep apnea is CPAP therapy. This involves wearing a mask over your nose and/or mouth while you sleep. The mask connects to a machine that provides a steady stream of air to keep your airways open, allowing for normal breathing throughout the night. CPAP machines and masks come in various options to suit individual needs and comfort levels.
Oral Appliances
Oral appliances, which resemble mouthguards, can alleviate sleep apnea symptoms by addressing the root cause. Depending on the specific issue, these devices may help reduce snoring, reposition the jaw to keep the airway clear, or stabilize the tongue for improved airflow.
Surgery and Medication
For certain cases, surgery or medication may be necessary to treat sleep apnea. Surgical options commonly include repairing a deviated septum, widening a narrow throat or airway, or adjusting the jaw to reduce blockages in the throat. Medications may also be recommended to manage symptoms or underlying contributing factors. A personalized approach ensures the treatment aligns with your needs and helps you achieve better sleep and overall well-being.
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 revolve around the inability to sleep deeply and the negative effects this causes. Common signs include frequent or loud snoring, silent pauses in breathing during sleep, waking up choking or gasping for air, and needing to use the washroom during the night. Sufferers often wake feeling unsatisfied with their sleep. Daytime symptoms may include headaches, irritability, difficulty concentrating, brain fog, memory loss, and even a decline in sexual desire.
Sleep apnea can have many causes. The most common type in adults is obstructive sleep apnea, which is often linked to excess weight or obesity. However, determining the specific cause or type of sleep apnea requires an evaluation by a professional.
Yes, sleep apnea can disrupt your sleep even if you don’t remember waking up. When your brain detects a lack of oxygen due to blocked airways, it briefly wakes you to restore breathing. These awakenings are so brief that you may not recall them, yet they can occur 30 times or more per night, leaving you groggy and unrested in the morning.
Several factors can increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. These include being overweight, male, older in age, having a family history of sleep apnea, smoking, using alcohol or sleeping pills, and experiencing nasal congestion.
Research indicates that sleeping on your side, also known as the lateral sleeping position, is the most effective position for reducing sleep apnea symptoms and snoring.
Yes, while obstructive sleep apnea is more common in individuals who are overweight, thin people can also develop the condition due to other causes. Sleep apnea is not exclusive to one body type.
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