Sleep Apnea Information

Sleep apnea is a relatively common sleep disorder that can be effectively treated with the assistance of a physician or dentist. For those who believe they may be suffering from sleep apnea, it can helpful to learn more about the symptoms and causes of sleep apnea, and the types of treatment options that are available to patients.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a relatively common sleep disorder that can be effectively treated with the assistance of a physician or dentist. For those who believe they may be suffering from sleep apnea, it can helpful to learn more about the symptoms and causes of sleep apnea, and the types of treatment options that are available to patients.

You may be confused as to why you wake up tired, with no energy to tackle the day, and with reduced memory and problem-solving skills. If you notice that you aren’t waking up rested, it could be because your sleep is being interrupted by sleep apnea.

There are three types of sleep apnea, including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and mixed (or complex) sleep apnea. While obstructive sleep apnea is by far the most common—the National Sleep Foundation says it affects more than 18 million adults—central sleep apnea can be more serious.

If you’re waking up in the morning feeling groggy but don’t know why, take a closer look at your sleeping patterns. It could be that you suffer from sleep apnea. Of course, it’s hard to tell if you have sleep apnea, a disorder that repeatedly interrupts your sleep for several seconds at a time. If you have a sleep partner, ask him or her for insight. You may fall asleep, snort awake for a second or two, then go right back to sleep. This happens repeatedly all through the night, preventing you from obtaining that deep sleep state that’s necessary for restoring brain functions, keeping you healthy and giving you energy needed for the next day.

Who is Affected by Sleep Apnea?

Up to 18 million adults in America suffer from this type of sleep disorder, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common kind of sleep apnea. It mostly affects adults, but can affect up to 20 percent of children who habitually snore. It can occur at any age and affects both males and females equally. However, your risk factor is upped if you have a small upper airway, large tongue, large neck, are overweight, are 40 or older, and smoke or drink alcohol. OSA is thought to be genetic as well.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

The biggest symptom of sleep apnea is chronic snoring, especially in cases of obstructive types of sleep apnea. Other signs include hypersomnia (which is excessive sleepiness in the daytime), breathing cessation during sleep, abrupt awakenings with shortness of breath, headaches in the morning, dry mouth upon awakening, problems with attention and memory, and insomnia.

Although it’s difficult to ascertain whether you suffer from sleep apnea without participating in a sleep study (or without having a partner tell you of your snoring or awakening patterns through the night), there are some common symptoms attached with this sleep disorder. Sleep apnea can cause breathing to stop or get shallow, with pauses between breathing, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to even a minute or more, occurring 30 times per hour in some cases. It’s no wonder why you feel groggy in the morning!

Telltale Signs

Sleep apnea, affecting 18 million U.S. adults, according to the National Sleep Foundation, is characterized in large part by loud, chronic snoring at night. Other signs that you may be suffering from sleep apnea include:

• excessive sleepiness in the daytime
• headaches upon awakening
• an excessively dry mouth in the morning
• memory problems
• attention deficits, and
• insomnia

Dangers of Sleep Apnea

Not only can sleep apnea pose a problem while it’s happening, depriving the brain of oxygen and robbing you of deep restorative sleep, but it can also pose a danger and a health risk during the daytime. Sleep insufficiency can lead to an increase risk of motor vehicle crashes, industrial accidents and medical errors, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). When it comes to your health, people who suffer from sleep apnea are more likely to fall victim to diseases like hypertension, depression, diabetes, cancer and obesity—not to mention a decrease in overall quality of life. The CDC suggests regular access to technology, as well as longer work and school schedules, have put more and more people at risk for sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea.

The Silent Symptom

Your spouse or partner may not exactly be silent about your chronic snoring, but there is a side effect of sleep apnea that’s not as commonly talked about in medical journals: the effect this sleep disorder has on your sleeping partner. You’re not the only one failing to get your nightly rest. Your partner experiences nights of tossing and turning, too, putting up with the snoring, the snorting and abrupt awakenings that can shake the bed in many cases. In fact, your partner could be losing at least one hour of sleep every night, adding up to about 12 days a year of missed sleep.

Snoring and sleep problems can lead to problems within a relationship. Your partner may have asked you to seek help as a result of your condition. Perhaps you have made excuses, thinking it’s not a big deal. However, sleep apnea, particularly with the most common form—obstructive—can lead to more serious problems such as heart disease and even death. If you’ve tried everything.

Sleep Apnea Causes and Risk Factors

Certain individuals may be more at risk for sleep apnea. Risk factors include being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol, having a naturally small airway and/or a larger neck. Individuals over 40 years of age could also be at increased risk. Sleep apnea can increase the risk of anything from stroke and obesity to diabetes and heart attack. Those who suffer from sleep apnea are also at increased risk for high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and experiencing an accident while working or behind the wheel.

Sleep Apnea Treatments.

Treatments can be as simple as breathing strips or dental appliances, or as cumbersome as a continuous positive airway pressure device, or CPAP machine. For those who’ve tried a CPAP machine and find it too unwieldy or too noisy for you or your sleeping partner, then talk to Dr. Shelton regarding an oral appliance that may help you with these issues.