Sleep Apnea
At Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness, our goal is to get you to have the most comfortable, restful sleep possible to improve your overall quality of life. Sleep apnea can cause serious health issues and problems with lifestyle management. It’s a condition that should never be ignored, especially since treatment for sleep apnea in Alabama is readily available through several options.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder where natural breathing is interrupted during sleep. Whether this occurs for several seconds or several minutes, the condition is dangerous enough to be a serious risk for other health issues. People who suffer from sleep apnea have been known to stop breathing from ten seconds up to two minutes or even longer. Another factor to be aware of is the number of times that breathing stops. A person with this condition may stop breathing a few times in the span of an hour or between 60 and 100 times per hour. At some point, the frequency of the cessation of breathing may reach a point where most of the hour is spent not breathing rather than breathing!
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
When people think of sleep apnea, the first thing that comes to mind is snoring. Snoring can be one of the most obvious symptoms of sleep apnea, but it’s not the only symptom. The following are some of the associated symptoms of sleep apnea:
- Loud and/or excessive snoring
- Episodes of breathing cessation during sleep
- Startling awake with a feeling that you can’t breathe
- Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat
- Headache immediately upon waking
- Difficulty concentrating or focusing on tasks during the day
- Fatigue
- Mood changes, such as depression or irritability
- High blood pressure
- Nighttime sweating
- Bruxism (clenching/grinding of your teeth)
- Nocturia (using the bathroom several times during night)
Note that you may not have all of these symptoms, you may only have a few, and having one or two of these symptoms does not mean you have sleep apnea. The diagnosis is made with a sleep study and a sleep physician. Often, the symptoms of sleep apnea aren’t apparent to the person suffering from this condition. If you don’t’ have a bed partner, you may not even realize that you’re snoring. And, if you have other factors, such as a busy, hectic life schedule, you may not be aware that your fatigue and inability to focus result from sleep apnea and not stress.
For these reasons and more, we highly recommend that you consult with Alabama Dental Sleep and Wellness if you have any of the symptoms listed above. Our professionals can work with you to help you achieve a better overall quality of life.
Dangers of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea isn’t something that can be ignored. Even short periods of breathing cessation can have dire consequences. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to things such as:
- High blood pressure
- Heart problems
- Stroke
- Acid Reflux
- Cognitive decline – due to oxygen deprivation in the brain, among other things
- Sleep deprivation – this has its own host of related problems
- Motor vehicle accidents – due to lack of adequate sleep, lowered ability to focus, and higher risk of cardiac event while driving
- Damaged relationships – due to increased irritability, overreactions to negative events, unreasonable actions
- Forgetfulness
It may seem surprising to find out that so many negative outcomes can come from having sleep apnea. But this is precisely why seeking sleep apnea treatment in Alabama is so important.
