Things You Need To Know About Sleep Apnea

Things You Need To Know About Sleep Apnea

How long have you woken up feeling like you barely slept? How often does your spouse, your roommate, or your kids complain about your snoring?

You want to wake up feeling rested and refreshed. To do that, you need to get deep, healthy sleep. If you have sleep apnea, you may need treatment to make that happen.

We offer this kind of treatment at the office of Brian Davey, DDS. If you live in or near San Diego, CA, let us help you — and your loved ones — get the healthy sleep you all want and deserve.

To get started, call 858-762-9991 to schedule a consultation soon. In the meantime, we want to share a few things you should know about this sleep disorder.

Many People Don’t Know That They Have It

According to the Cleveland Clinic, sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed, and when it hasn’t been diagnosed, then it’s probably not being treated either.

It’s estimated that as many as 1 in 11 women and nearly 1 in 4 men have sleep apnea to one degree or another. Worse, experts also estimate that anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of people with this disorder have never been diagnosed.

Unfortunately, too many people dismiss snoring as an annoyance. While most people snore from time to time, people with obstructive sleep apnea often snoring consistently and loudly whenever they fall asleep.

What’s more, they often stop breathing (apnea is derived from a word meaning “without breath) because their airways become blocked when they fall asleep. That narrowing of the airway opening also amplifies the sound of snoring.

Ask your family and friends if they have noticed these breathing stoppages. If your snoring is keeping them awake, they are likely to know.

It Affects More Than Your Sleep

Your body doesn’t like it when you stop breathing. Its response is to wake you up, at least long enough to take a few breaths. You may not be aware of it when it happens, but those stoppages effectively restart your sleep cycle each time. As a result, you may never get the deep, healthy sleep that you need.

Without quality sleep, you can feel sleep deprived. That can leave you feeling fatigued and irritable. You may struggle with daytime sleepiness, too, which may explain why people with sleep apnea are more likely to be involved in car accidents.

Breathing stoppages are bad for a more obvious reason as well. When this happens, you release more stress hormones. This can lead to higher blood pressure and a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

Our Dentists Can Help

If you suspect that you may have sleep apnea, you should first get tested to confirm your diagnosis. Talking to one of our dentists can help you decide if a sleep test is in order.

For many people with sleep apnea, at CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine is often recommended for treatment. For some people, this works great. For others, the CPAP presents a new set of problems. Wearing a mask, feeling air pushed into your airway, and hearing the sound of the machine are all reasons people have told us they stopped using their CPAPs.

Fortunately, we may have another solution. Our sleep apnea treatment involves making a custom-made oral appliance. This is similar to a mouthguard that you wear while you sleep. The appliance pulls your lower jaw forward slightly. This keeps your airway open so you continue breathing. This allows you to get deep, quality sleep, and it also reduces and might even eliminate your snoring.

Start Enjoying Sweet Dreams Again

Most people dream during REM sleep, which is part of the deep sleep cycle. To stop snoring and start dreaming again, make plans to talk to someone at the office of Brian Davey, DDS.

Call 858-762-9991 or contact us online if you want to start sleeping better.