All About Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that makes it difficult to breathe while you sleep. This condition can disrupt your sleep more than 30 times a night and is characterized by pauses in breathing, gasping in your sleep, 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 – The most common form, caused by tissues in the back of the throat collapsing and blocking the airway during sleep.
- Central Sleep Apnea – Caused by a disruption in communication between your brain and muscles, leading to a breathing disruption.
There are two main types of sleep apnea:
What Are the Benefits of Sleep Apnea Treatment?
It goes without saying that a good night’s sleep is crucial for our emotional and physical well being. Even if you can’t remember waking up at night, sleep apnea still disrupts your sleep cycle and can have short term and long term effects on your health, relationships, and overall quality of life. Here are some benefits of treating sleep apnea:
Better Physical Health
Believe it or not, treating your sleep apnea can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart issues, type 2 diabetes, liver problems, and reduces stress on your metabolic system. Combating sleep apnea may also lower the extra risks associated with surgery or drug therapy.
Feel Like Normal Again
Do you ever feel like you’re forgetting something or can’t quite find the words? Sleep apnea sufferers often report waking up feeling groggy and stuck in a brain fog all day. With sleep apnea treatment, patients report feeling sharper, more focused, and more like themselves again.
Strengthen Your Relationships
Treating sleep apnea benefits both you and your partner. By reducing or stopping your restlessness and snoring altogether, you will also give your partner a higher quality, uninterrupted night of sleep. Both of you will wake up with improved moods. Facing the day with a fresh outlook will make parenting, work, and relationships feel much more enjoyable. Your good mood is contagious.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
There are several options for treating sleep apnea depending on the cause and severity of your condition. It’s important for us to find a solution that suits your lifestyle.
Lifestyle Changes
Good news, mild cases of sleep apnea can often be treated right at home. A Dentist in North York may recommend losing weight, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, changing the way you sleep, following sleep hygiene recommendations, and quitting smoking. These recommendations are so effective that we often suggest them even in conjunction with other treatments.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
Currently the most common treatment for sleep apnea, CPAP machines use a mask worn over the nose and/or mouth while you sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that delivers a constant, steady stream of air to help keep your airways open so you can breathe normally. There are different types of masks and machines available depending on your needs and comfort level.
Oral Appliances
There are oral appliances designed to be worn in the mouth during sleep to alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea. They typically look and feel like a mouthguard. Their function will depend on what’s causing your sleep apnea symptoms, and they may alleviate snoring, pull the jaw forward to keep your airway clear, or stabilize your tongue.
Surgery and Medication
In some cases, sleep apnea can be treated with surgery or medication. Common surgeries for sleep apnea include repairing a deviated septum, fixing a narrow throat or airway, or making adjustments to the jaw area to relieve blockages.
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 can be summed up as not being able to sleep deeply and suffering the consequences of that. A sleep apnea sufferer might:
- Snore loudly or frequently.
- Experience silent pauses in breathing while sleeping.
- Wake up choking or gasping for air.
- Have to use the washroom during the night.
- Wake up feeling unsatisfied with their sleep.
- During the day, experience headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritability, memory loss or brain fog, and even a decline in sexual desire.
Sleep apnea has various causes. In adults, the most common form is obstructive sleep apnea, often caused by excess weight or obesity. You cannot be certain of the cause of your sleep apnea until you are examined by a professional.
Even if you aren’t fully waking up, sleep apnea still disrupts your sleep. When you are deprived of oxygen, your brain briefly rouses you from sleep so you can open your airway. This awakening is so brief that you may not remember it, but you might be waking up more than 30 times a night, leaving you feeling groggy in the morning.
You may have an increased risk of sleep apnea if you are overweight, male, have a family history of sleep apnea, use alcohol or sleeping pills, smoke, or have 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 best position for relieving sleep apnea and reducing snoring.
While most people with obstructive sleep apnea are overweight, there are many causes of sleep apnea, and thin people can develop the disorder as well.
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