Sleep Medicine

5 Frequently Asked Questions About Sleep Apnea

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Sleep apnea affects as many as 25 million US adults. This condition causes patients to stop breathing briefly while they sleep. To resume breathing, the affected person must wake up briefly. This is disruptive to sleep and can negatively impact daily life.

If you suffer from sleep apnea, it’s important to get help from a sleep apnea dentist in Alabaster, AL. Your sleep apnea dentist can provide information and tools to help with your sleep apnea. Below, we’ve listed five frequently asked questions about sleep apnea.

1. What are the risks of sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea can put you at risk of a variety of problems including:

  • Stroke
  • Heart attack
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Shortened life span

In addition, sleep apnea can cause a variety of negative side effects including difficulty focusing, irritability, and daytime fatigue.

2. Who’s at risk of sleep apnea?

Many things can put you at risk of sleep apnea including:

  • Being older
  • Being male
  • Having a family history of sleep apnea
  • Having a narrow airway
  • Having excess weight
  • Being a smoker

Other risk factors can affect whether you get sleep apnea, including certain medical conditions.

3. How can you tell if you have sleep apnea?

One of the warning signs is loud snoring, so many people find out from their sleeping partners that they have sleep apnea. If you snore loudly at night and think you might have sleep apnea, talk to a sleep apnea dentist. If you do not have a sleep partner, watch for symptoms such as:

  • Daytime fatigue
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Irritability
  • Dry mouth when you wake
  • Morning headaches

4. If I think I have sleep apnea, what should I do?

Sleep apnea can put you at risk of a variety of health problems. If you have sleep apnea, get help from a professional. This is why many people come to us for sleep apnea treatment in Alabaster, AL.

5. How is sleep apnea treated?

Sleep apnea is treated in many ways. Some people treat sleep apnea with a combination of lifestyle changes and oral appliance therapy. We can help with both! Call today to make an appointment.

What Are the Risks of Sleep Apnea?

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Do you think you suffer from sleep apnea? If so, it’s important to get treatment from your sleep professional in Alabaster, AL. At Alabama Sleep and Wellness, we provide help to patients who think they have sleep apnea and want to treat their condition. Sleep apnea comes with risks that can cause a range of problems. Getting help for your sleep apnea can help keep you healthy. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing briefly while you’re sleeping. Most people with sleep apnea stop breathing because their throat muscles relax and cover the airway during sleep.

To resume breathing, the person with sleep apnea wakes suddenly and very briefly. Usually, the person wakes up so fast they don’t remember doing it. Sleep apnea can prevent you from sleeping deeply, and that can affect your quality of life in many ways.

What Are the Risks of Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea comes with many risks. People who have sleep apnea are at risk for conditions such as:

  • High blood pressure
  • Fatigue
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Liver problems
  • Metabolic syndrome

Sleep apnea can also impact your relationship with your partner and other people in your household. Sleeping with someone who has sleep apnea can be difficult, as snoring can be very disruptive to the other person in your bed. The stress that this causes, as well as sleepless nights, can lead to an overall reduction in the quality of life.

How Can You Tell If You Have Sleep Apnea?

You may have a hard time telling if you have sleep apnea, but your spouse is likely to notice. People who have sleep apnea often snore loudly and gasp throughout the night. If your partner has complained about your snoring or has mentioned that you often stop breathing and then gasp while sleeping, this could be a sign you have sleep apnea.

Do You Snore? Contact Us for Sleep Apnea Treatment

If you snore loudly, you may need sleep apnea treatment in Alabaster, AL. Call us today to make an appointment and learn more about how we can help.

Can I Treat Sleep Apnea Myself?

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Sleep apnea is a serious condition. People who have sleep apnea are at risk for a range of health problems including heart problems, increased risk of stroke, and more. Your sleep professional in Alabaster, AL can help.

In this article, we’ll tell you more about sleep apnea and go over some of the lifestyle changes you can make to improve your sleep apnea. While most people need professional help for their sleep apnea, some lifestyle changes can help with this condition.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition wherein a person stops breathing briefly while they’re asleep. To resume breathing, the person must wake up. Sleep apnea is disruptive to essential sleep cycles and can leave you feeling irritable and unfocused. Over time, sleep apnea can affect your health and leave you at risk for other serious conditions.

How Can I Tell If I Have Sleep Apnea?

There are many symptoms of sleep apnea to watch for, including:

  • Loud snoring
  • Gasping while sleeping
  • Tired even after sleeping for 8 hours at a time
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty focusing throughout the day

Many people don’t know they have sleep apnea unless their sleep partner alerts them to their snoring. If your spouse or sleep partner has reported that you snore loudly, talk to a sleep professional about sleep apnea.

Can I Treat Myself For Sleep Apnea?

There are many lifestyle changes you can make that can help with sleep apnea. Some changes include:

  • Stop smoking
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Limit your alcohol intake, especially before bed
  • Avoid caffeine before bed
  • Get plenty of exercise during the day

While these are all lifestyle changes that you can make on your own, it’s best to work with a sleep professional to ensure that these changes are implemented safely and effectively. At Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness, we provide sleep apnea treatment in Alabaster, AL. We can help you with your sleep apnea! Call today to make an appointment and learn more about what we can do to help with your sleep apnea.

Your Spouse Snores? What You Both Should Know

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Snoring can be a problem for spouses because it prevents sleep partners from enjoying sleep together. Loud snoring can be annoying and disruptive, but did you know that loud snoring can also be a sign of a health problem?

Loud snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, a problem that can lead a person to stop breathing briefly while sleeping. If your spouse has sleep apnea, they could be at risk for a range of other health problems. It’s important to get treatment for sleep apnea. Your sleep professional in Alabaster, AL can help. Here’s what you need to know.

What Causes Snoring?

Snoring happens when there’s an obstruction in the airway during sleep. Light snoring is common and can be caused by a variety of things including allergies, a cold, enlarged tonsils, and alcohol consumption before bed.

Loud snoring is often an indication of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that occurs when the airway collapses during sleep. When this happens, the patient stops breathing briefly until they wake up and start breathing again.

What’s the Risk of Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea prevents patients from sleeping deeply, and can put them at risk for a variety of problems including stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Sleep apnea can also lead to problems focusing and mood swings. Sleep apnea causes patients to be chronically tired and that can lead to interpersonal problems, problems at work, difficulty driving safely, and more.

Think Your Spouse Has Sleep Apnea? What Should You Do

There is no cure for sleep apnea, but there are treatments to manage the condition and reduce snoring. Some patients manage their sleep apnea through lifestyle changes, but many people need help from a professional.

If you or your partner needs sleep apnea treatment in Alabaster, AL, contact the professionals at Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness.We offer a range of treatments to our patients and can help them manage snoring and other problems. Call today to get started.

Sleep Apnea Can Be Dangerous if Left Untreated

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Sleep apnea in Alabaster AL causes people to stop breathing during sleep, sometimes as often as 100 times per hour. Apnea, which means loss of breath, usually occurs for a few seconds at a time. Because of this, some people do not even know that they have this condition.

Longer periods of breathlessness that leave you gasping for breath are also common. These longer periods of apnea can last up to two minutes. Although sleep apnea is not always preventable, simple lifestyle changes can improve its symptoms dramatically.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Below is an extensive list of symptoms commonly associated with sleep apnea. However, having a few of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have this disorder. We encourage you to ask your doctor for a sleep study referral if you notice several of these symptoms and they interfere with your daily functioning.

  • Cognitive difficulties, including memory loss and focusing problems
  • Daytime fatigue and/or irritability
  • Grinding your teeth at night
  • Having to get up to use the bathroom a lot during the night
  • Loud snoring
  • Morning headaches
  • Sore throat and/or dry mouth each morning
  • Sweating during sleep
  • Waking up gasping for breath, with or without a startle reflex

The first thing to do if you suspect that you have sleep apnea is visit your primary physician for a complete exam. Since primary care doctors are not experts in sleep disorders, you can ask your doctor for a referral to Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness. Unfortunately, ignoring the problem can lead to serious health consequences like cognitive decline, stroke, heart disease, chronic high blood pressure, and several others.

What to Expect During Your Sleep Study

When you come to our clinic for a sleep study, a technician places three sensors on your body to determine brain, heart, and eye activity. Each of these sensors provides important clues about how you experience sleep apnea. You will also wear a breathing sensor, pulse oximeter, and respiratory belt.

After you leave in the morning, the technicians working with you prepare a report of their findings. We will reach out to discuss the result of your testing forsleep apnea in Alabaster AL and offer treatment recommendations as soon as one of our doctors has reviewed the report.

Snoring

How Can I Tell If I Have Sleep Apnea?

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You may have heard about the dangers of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can increase your risk of various conditions like heart disease and stroke. It’s important to find out when you have sleep apnea. Your dentist in Alabaster, AL can help.

At Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness, our dental experts can help you identify when you’re suffering from sleep apnea and can help you decide what needs to be done. We offer sleep apnea treatment that can control your snoring and help facilitate good breathing while you sleep.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes people to stop breathing while they sleep. Often, this happens to people because the muscles in their mouth and throat relax so much that the airway is covered. When this happens, the person wakes briefly enough to start breathing again, and the process starts over.

What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?

If you suffer from sleep apnea, you may experience:

  • Extreme daytime tiredness, even when you slept 8 hours the night before.
  • Loud, disruptive snoring.
  • Waking periodically at night gasping for breath.
  • Depression or mood swings.
  • Difficulty focusing.
  • Mouth is dry upon waking.

In addition, your spouse or bed partner may have reported that you stop breathing at night. People who have sleep apnea often don’t know they snore loudly or stop breathing unless someone tells them.

If you think you may have sleep apnea, the first step is to get a diagnosis from a professional.

What Should I Do If I Have Sleep Apnea?

If you have sleep apnea, it’s important to get sleep apnea treatment in Alabaster, AL. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition. People who suffer from sleep apnea rarely sleep well enough. This can make them unfocused and accident-prone. In addition, people who suffer from sleep apnea are at greater risk for conditions like heart disease.

For many patients, a mouth guard is sufficient to hold open the airway and stop the snoring. This can improve quality of life, improve quality of sleep, and can stop disruptive snoring. To learn more, call Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness today.

Why Do I Snore So Loud?

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Soft snoring is a normal thing that people do sometimes while sleeping, but really frequent, loud snoring can be a sign of a problem. If you snore really loudly, you may need help from a sleep doctor in Alabaster, AL.

At Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness, we help patients manage their snoring so they (and other members of their families) can get a good night’s rest. If you snore loudly at night, here’s what you need to know.

What Causes Loud Snoring?

Loud snoring is typically caused by a condition called sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, you repeatedly stop breathing while you sleep, then wake up very briefly to start breathing again.

Most people with sleep apnea experience this problem because the muscles in their throat relax so much that parts of their airway become closed off. Some people with sleep apnea experience this problem because their brain stops sending signals to breathe while sleeping.

How Can I Stop Snoring?

There isn’t a silver bullet for treating sleep apnea. Different people respond to different types of treatment. For many people, losing weight and cutting down on drinking before bedtime can help. Many people also respond positively to dental oral appliances that help open the airway to promote better breathing. Either way, working with an expert can help.

If you’re snoring in Alabaster, AL, getting help is important. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition that can put you at higher risk for heart problems and other complications. In addition, sleep apnea can leave you feeling tired all the time, even when you’ve had a full night’s sleep. See the sleep doctor in Alabaster, AL, for help.