What is Sleep Apnea?

When you wake up in the morning, do you feel rested and rejuvenated, or are you exhausted and suffering from headaches? If the latter sounds like your experience, you may be suffering from sleep apnea. Frequent headaches upon waking and morning fatigue are common among people who suffer from this debilitating sleep disorder. Fortunately, there are solutions available from Dental Sleep Medicine of Jacksonville that can help you get a better, more productive night’s sleep.

What is Sleep Apnea?

With sleep apnea, the airway collapses when you become relaxed. Muscles in the tongue and upper airway obstruct the flow of oxygen to the brain and the brain signals you to wake suddenly. Headaches are caused by the brain starving for oxygen during your sleep. Loud or excessive snoring is the most common effect of sleep apnea. This can be a problem for your bed partner as well as yourself.

The sleep deprivation that comes with sleep apnea affects every area of your life. If your body is not getting the time it requires for restorative sleep, your overall health is being compromised. Sleep apnea can cause you to wake up anywhere from a few times to hundreds of times during the night. This can result in daytime fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, headaches, and other disruptions to your daily life.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects more than 20 million Americans and can lead to hypertension, heart attack, stroke, depression, muscle pain, excessive daytime sleepiness and other destructive problems. You may be in danger when operating a vehicle or other heavy equipment as OSA causes serious concentration problems that lead to “drowsy driving” and other dangerous situations.

What Causes Sleep Apnea?

Excessive snoring and sleep apnea can have a variety of causes. Certain health factors, such as family history, weight, smoking, alcohol use, and a history of heart conditions, can also increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. While sleep apnea can affect adults and children of all ages, it is most prevalent in adult men aged 40 and older.

If you have already been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are currently on CPAP therapy, you may be a candidate for the dental appliance. Some patients who are diagnosed with snoring, mild or moderate sleep apnea may be able to be treated with the dental appliance therapy.

For those who are severe sleep apnea patients, co- therapy may be an option to decrease the air pressure on the CPAP machine and make it easier to wear and sleep.

Learn what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says about the risks of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and how qualified dentist like Dr Alan Krantz can effectively treat this disorder with oral appliance therapy.