About 40 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a chronic health condition that interferes with breathing during sleep. While OSA tends to be more common among people who are overweight or have a large neck circumference, it can happen to just about anybody.
OSA happens when the tissues and muscles in your throat relax too much and descend into your airway, preventing you from breathing normally. These interruptions typically last a few seconds but can be longer than a minute and happen dozens of times every night.
Not surprisingly, having your breathing interrupted repeatedly can take a toll on your health. OSA is associated with increased risks of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and even depression. Early treatment is key to reducing your risks and improving your overall wellness.
At Dr Taylor’s Family Dental Center, Marvin Taylor, DDS and his team, offer advanced treatment for sleep apnea. In this post, he reviews four of the most common OSA symptoms to help you seek treatment as soon as possible.
Very loud, persistent snoring is probably the most well-known sleep apnea sign, perhaps because sleep partners complain about it. Snoring happens when your airways become partially blocked. As the throat tissues descend and the airway narrows, breathing causes tissues to vibrate, creating loud snoring sounds.
It’s worth noting that while snoring is a common sign of apnea, you can have sleep apnea without snoring. Likewise, if you snore, that doesn’t automatically mean you have sleep apnea. Other issues, like allergies or sinus issues, can cause snoring, too.
Most apnea-related breathing interruptions last just a few seconds — so brief that many people don’t wake up, meaning they may not even realize they have apnea. But some breathing interruptions last longer.
Prolonged interruptions cause oxygen levels to plummet, and your brain responds by triggering a gasping or choking response. While you might sleep through these interruptions, some gasping or choking episodes are strong enough to wake you up — even though you may not know why you’re awake.
Not surprisingly, dozens of sleep interruptions in a single night disrupt your normal sleep cycle, preventing you from getting the rest you need to feel energized for the next day. The repeated lack of oxygen during apnea interruptions means your cells don’t get the oxygen they need to repair and restore themselves while you sleep.
People with apnea feel fatigued regularly, and they may have difficulty staying focused at work or in school. Lack of quality sleep increases the risk of accidents, and the toll on your immune system can lead to more frequent illnesses.
In addition to the toll on your sleep, untreated apnea can affect your cognitive functions, too, causing problems with concentration, memory, and even your mood. Like the rest of your body, your brain depends on a regular cycle of healthy sleep to repair, restore, and reset itself.
When that cycle is interrupted by apnea, your brain doesn’t have a chance to prepare for the next day’s challenges. As a result, you can have problems with focus and concentration, memory, and overall clarity — a condition sometimes referred to as brain fog. Lack of sleep makes it harder to cope with daily stresses, increasing the likelihood of mood-related issues like irritability, anxiety, or depression.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type, but there is a second type called central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea happens when your nervous system doesn’t tell you to breathe during sleep, and it’s usually associated with serious underlying diseases or some medicines that affect your sleep, like opioids.
A third type — complex sleep apnea — involves both OSA symptoms and central sleep apnea. Dr. Taylor can help determine which apnea affects your breathing and health. Call 248-681-8100 or request an appointment online at Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center in Waterford, Michigan, today to learn the cause of your symptoms and how we can help.
