04 May What is sleep apnea?
Because sleep apnea is associated with a number of serious health conditions, it’s important to know what causes it, what its symptoms are and what treatments are available. If you have sleep apnea, you will want to pursue interventions to restore your health and wellbeing.
Sleep Apnea: What causes it?
Sleep apnea occurs when the soft tissues at the back of your throat collapse while you are sleeping in a prone position. In doing so, they partially block the opening to the airway. Your ability to breathe becomes so limited that you wake briefly to normalize breathing. Then the whole cycle repeats.
Certain factors may increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. They include:
- Obesity
- Large neck circumference
- Congenitally narrow jaw
- Chronic sinus problems
- Smoking
- Alcohol or sedative use close to bedtime
Men and post-menopausal women also face a higher risk of sleep apnea than do pre-menopausal women. If you have any of these risk factors and exhibit sleep apnea symptoms, such as snoring and daytime drowsiness, you should be evaluated by a sleep specialist to confirm the diagnosis.
Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
While many sleep apnea patients may start out with a CPAP device that mechanically forces air into the airway to keep it open, many patients also abandon that device pretty quickly after seeing its drawbacks. If you’ve experienced this, you can consult with a dentist to learn about CPAP alternatives.
A dentist may recommend oral appliance therapy or expansive orthodontics. With the former, the patient wears a custom-made appliance at night to hold the jaw in a forward position.
Expansive orthodontics goes a step further, creating more space in the jaw to permanently eliminate the structural issues that contribute to sleep apnea.
What happens when sleep apnea goes untreated?
The effects of untreated sleep apnea are wide-ranging. Your quality of life can suffer due to issues like:
- Daytime drowsiness
- Low energy levels
- Irritability and impatience
- Depression
- Attention impairments
You may feel depleted, turning to stimulants like caffeine or even sugar to keep going throughout your day, and you may not be able to muster up the motivation to exercise.
Furthermore, your health can also be diminished by the effects of sleep apnea, which appears to have a relationship with serious conditions like:
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Obesity
- Heart disease
It appears that sleep apnea even increases a patient’s risk of premature death. To prevent these consequences, it’s essential to get treatment for your sleep apnea.
Don’t let sleep apnea deprive you of your right to a good night’s sleep or compromise your health. Schedule a consultation with our team at Crosspointe Sleep Solutions today.