Snoring is an embarrassing issue that disturbs your partner and others sleeping around you. Mere snoring happens when your nasal passage is blocked, and it generally goes away when you feel healthy again. But persistent snoring can be serious. If you wake up abruptly in the middle of the night when snoring, then it can be due to something more serious like sleep apnea.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Although sleep apnea is common, it is a serious health issue associated with several other health disorders and issues. When you have sleep apnea, the air stops flowing to your lungs for 10 seconds or longer, and you stop breathing for short periods. Sensing you have stopped breathing, your brain automatically triggers you to wake up just enough to take a breath. Then you fall back to sleep, and the cycle begins again. For some people, this can happen over 15-30 times every hour, even though they may not remember waking up. People sleeping around them may report this.

This entire process looks like this: the muscles in the back of your throat relax. These muscles support the soft palate, the uvula, the tonsils, the sidewalls of the throat and the tongue. When the muscles relax, your airway narrows or closes as you breathe in. You can’t get enough air, which can lower the oxygen level in your blood. Your brain senses your inability to breathe and briefly awakens you from sleep so that you can reopen your airway.

Types of Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea can affect anyone, even children. The main types of sleep apnea are:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

This is a more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax. It is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep.

Central Sleep Apnea

This type occurs when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. This happens due to instability in the respiratory control center.

Complex Sleep Apnea

Also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, this type occurs when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. This type is nothing but an advanced stage of this problem and requires immediate attention and treatment.

What are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?

A person suffering from any of these types of sleep apnea may experience one, some, or all of the following symptoms:

  1. Loud or frequent snoring
  2. Silent pauses in breathing
  3. Choking or gasping sounds
  4. Waking up with a very sore or dry throat
  5. Daytime sleepiness or fatigue
  6. Unrefreshing and restless sleep
  7. Difficulty in sleeping (insomnia)
  8. Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
  9. Morning headaches
  10. Waking during the night to go to the washroom (nocturia)
  11. Difficulty concentrating
  12. Memory loss and forgetfulness
  13. Decreased libido or sexual desire
  14. Irritability
  15. Teeth clenching and grinding that further results in dental issues.

What Increases the Likelihood of Sleep Apnea?

Some factors that increase the risk of this form of sleep apnea include:

  • Narrow airway or throat
  • Thicker neck
  • Enlarged tonsils and adenoids
  • Small jaw bone with a large tongue
  • Chronic nasal congestion
  • Overweight and obesity
  • High cholesterol
  • Advanced age, generally 40+ years
  • Family history of sleep apnea
  • Heart disorders and a history of strokes
  • Other issues like asthma, sinus, allergies, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, etc.
  • Use of alcohol, sedatives, or tranquillizers.
  • Smoking and tobacco consumption in any form

What are the Consequences of Untreated Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea, no matter what type or stage it is, should be treated in time. If not treated, it can result in several other minor and serious health issues. Here are some of the effects of untreated sleep apnea:

  • High blood pressure
  • Low blood oxygen
  • Metabolic syndromes like abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, and an increased waist circumference
  • Liver problems like scarring
  • Complications with medications and surgery
  • Acid reflux
  • Stroke
  • Heart failure, irregular heartbeats, and even heart attacks
  • Asthma
  • Diabetes
  • Depression and stress
  • Worsening of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Persistent headaches
  • Weight gain
  • Changed facial appearance

Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea and not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. So how do you tell the difference between these two? The biggest sign of sleep apnea is the constant feeling of fatigue and tiredness. You don’t feel these issues if you only have the habit of snoring. The good news is that this issue can be solved or at least prevented with easy tips:

Self-care precautions: Change your lifestyle – quit smoking, lose weight, do throat exercises, avoid sedatives, and elevate your head while sleeping.

Bedtime exercises: Open nasal passages using a nasal dilator or saline spray, tighten your temporomandibular joint muscles, sleep on your side, etc.

Use oral appliances and breathing devices: Use appliances like a mouth guard /splint or a snore appliance while sleeping.

To deal with either issues of snoring or Sleep Apnea, please contact our office for a solution custom made for you.

Posted in Dental News & Advice