Sleep Apnea

Having you been experiencing troubled sleeping lately? Sometimes, you may be suddenly woken up in the middle of
a sound sleep due to the inability to breathe, leaving you gasping for air. It can be quite a traumatic experience, and
having to go through it several times can leave a bad impact on your mental health as well.

The condition is termed as ‘Sleep Apnea’. It is the inability of a person to inhale while sleeping due to the partial or
complete blockage of the airway. It is most often caused due to the collapse of the soft tissues from the roof the
throat or when the brain fails to signal the lungs to inhale involuntarily. Sleep apnea must be treated at the earliest to
avoid complications in the future.

What are the types of sleep apnea?

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): It is caused due to the obstruction of the airway due to the collapse of the
  tissues from the throat. You would be unable to inhale air, which is when you would suddenly be woken up
  in the middle of sleep.
• Central Sleep Apnea (CSA): This occurs due to the malfunctioning of the brain. The brain fails to signal the
  lungs to inhale and exhale air, thereby depriving the body of its normal supply of oxygen.
• Mixed Sleep Apnea: It is a combination of both Obstructive and Central sleep apnea.

What are its symptoms?

• Lack of sleep
• Tiredness
• Decreased levels of tolerance i.e. getting irritated over the smallest things
• Waking up with a bad headache and a sore throat
• Noisy snoring
• Frequent stopping in breathing
• Bruxism and TMJ disorder
• Frequent dozing off during daytime due to sleep deprivation

How is sleep apnea treated?

Treatment of sleep apnea can be divided into two types. You can help yourself in this regard by bringing about a few
changes in your behavior, which is the first type of treatment. If that doesn’t seem to help, you can seek professional
treatment from a dentist.

Some of the changes you can make that would reduce the severity of sleep apnea are:

• Losing weight
• Eating healthy by keeping a check on the consumption of foods high in cholesterol
• Quitting or limiting the intake of alcohol and smoking tobacco
• Bringing about changes in your sleep patterns and postures
• Controlling the blood pressure levels

When it comes to professional treatment, we would carefully diagnose your condition and come up with a customized
treatment plan. It would include the use of a mouth guard that prevents the collapse of the tissues in the throat. This
way, the airway wouldn’t get blocked. Another way to treat sleep apnea is by using a CPAP. It is a device that
consists of an oxygen mask that fits comfortably on the mouth and nose. The mask is connected to an oxygen
reserve that provides a continuous supply of oxygen while you sleep.

Call us at (262) 886-9440 or schedule an online appointment to know more about sleep apnea.