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 and is characterized by pauses in normal breathing, gasping, waking up with headaches, feeling tired and foggy during the day, and, of course, excessive snoring that may keep your partner awake.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea: The most common form, caused by tissues in the back of the throat collapsing and blocking the airway during sleep.
- Central Sleep Apnea: This type is caused by a disruption in the communication between your brain and muscles, leading to breathing interruptions.
There are two main types of sleep apnea:
Sleep apnea can significantly affect your overall health and quality of life, but it is treatable.
What Are the Benefits of Sleep Apnea Treatment?
A good night’s sleep is essential for our emotional and physical well-being. Even if you don’t remember waking up at night, sleep apnea can still disrupt your sleep cycle, leading to both short-term and long-term effects on your health, relationships, and quality of life. Beyond finally getting a restful night of sleep, here are some of the key benefits of sleep apnea treatment:
Better Physical Health
Treating sleep apnea can significantly reduce your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver problems, and stress on your metabolic system. Addressing sleep apnea may also help lower the extra risks associated with surgery or drug therapy, contributing to better overall health.
Feel Like Yourself Again
Do you find yourself forgetting things or struggling to find the right words? Many sleep apnea sufferers report feeling groggy upon waking and experiencing brain fog throughout the day. With effective treatment, patients often feel sharper, more focused, and more like themselves again—restored to their usual mental clarity.
Strengthen Your Relationships
Treating your sleep apnea is beneficial for both you and your partner. By reducing or stopping restlessness and snoring, you’ll both enjoy higher quality, uninterrupted sleep. When you wake up feeling refreshed and in a better mood, it has a positive impact on your relationships, work, parenting, and overall enjoyment of life. A good night’s sleep creates a good mood—and your partner will likely share it! Sleep apnea treatment offers numerous benefits, not just for your health but for your overall well-being and the quality of your relationships.
How is Sleep Apnea Treated?
There are several treatment options for sleep apnea, depending on the cause and severity of the condition. It’s important to find a solution that suits your lifestyle and needs.
Lifestyle Changes
For mild cases of sleep apnea, treatment can often be done at home. Your dentist may recommend lifestyle changes such as losing weight, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, and adjusting your sleeping position. Following proper sleep hygiene practices and quitting smoking are also effective in managing the condition. These changes are not only safe and effective but are often recommended alongside other treatments to help improve sleep apnea symptoms.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea is the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. This treatment involves wearing a mask over your nose and/or mouth while you sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that delivers a constant stream of air to keep your airways open, allowing you to breathe normally throughout the night. There are different types of masks and machines available to suit your preferences and comfort.
Oral Appliances
In addition to CPAP therapy, there are oral appliances that can be worn while sleeping to alleviate sleep apnea symptoms. These appliances often resemble a mouthguard and work by either reducing snoring, pulling the jaw forward to keep the airway clear, or stabilizing the tongue. The specific oral appliance used depends on the underlying cause of your sleep apnea.
Surgery and Medication
In more severe cases, surgery or medication may be required. Common surgical treatments include repairing a deviated septum in the nose, addressing a narrow throat or airway, or making adjustments to the jaw area to relieve blockages in the throat. Your healthcare provider will determine if surgery or medication is appropriate based on the specific cause of your sleep apnea. With a variety of treatment options available, there’s a solution to help you manage sleep apnea and improve your overall quality of life.
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 often revolve around an inability to sleep deeply and the consequences of that. A sleep apnea sufferer might snore loudly or frequently, experience pauses in breathing while sleeping, wake up choking or gasping, need to use the washroom at night, and feel completely unsatisfied with their sleep. During the day, they may experience headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritability, memory loss or brain fog, and a decline in sexual desire.
Sleep apnea can have many different causes. In adults, the most common form is obstructive sleep apnea, which is often linked to excess weight and obesity. However, to determine the exact cause and type of sleep apnea, it’s important to be examined by a professional.
Although you may not be waking up fully, sleep apnea can still disrupt your sleep by causing a lack of oxygen. When your airway becomes blocked, your brain briefly rouses you to open your airway, but this awakening is so brief that you may not remember it the next day. You could be waking up 30 times or more each night without realizing it, leaving you feeling groggy and unrested in the morning.
Certain factors can increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. These include being overweight, male, having a family history of sleep apnea or poor sleep, using alcohol or sleeping pills, smoking, or having nasal congestion. Sleep apnea is also more common in older adults.
Research suggests that sleeping on your side—also known as the lateral sleeping position—is the most effective for alleviating sleep apnea and reducing snoring.
While obstructive sleep apnea is more common in people who are overweight, thin individuals can also develop sleep apnea. There are many causes of sleep apnea, and being thin does not make someone immune to the disorder.
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