Welcome to Sleep Solutions

Do you or your partner snore? It may be more serious than you think.

90 million Americans suffer from snoring during sleep. While snoring is frustrating for everyone involved, it’s also often a lot more. For more than half of snorers, snoring is one of the biggest warning signs of the dangerous sleep disorder, sleep apnea. As a result, ignoring snoring can be the difference between life and death. It’s time to fully understand what this snoring means and what you can do to silence it.

Sleep Apnea

Did you know that 1 in 5 adults suffer from sleep apnea and that they don’t even know it? It’s true. As a result, if you don’t even know what sleep apnea is, it is time to find out.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is an extremely common and serious sleep disorder that causes a person’s breathing to get interrupted while they sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times in a single night. This means that their brain, along with the rest of their body, may not get enough oxygen.

Sleep apnea can make you wake up in the morning feeling tired or unrefreshed even though you have had a full night of sleep. During the day, you may feel fatigued, have difficulty concentrating or you may even unintentionally fall asleep. This is because your body is waking up numerous times throughout the night, even though you might not be conscious of each awakening.

The lack of oxygen your body receives can have negative long-term consequences for your health, including:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Pre-diabetes and diabetes
  • Depression

This type of sleep disorder has become a significant health issue in the United States. In fact, it is estimated that 22 million Americans currently suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea remaining undiagnosed. This is extremely alarming since untreated OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which represents the great preponderance of the cases, can lead to high blood pressure, chronic heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems; is associated with type 2 diabetes and depression; and is a factor in many traffic accidents and accidents with heavy machinery.

Where can I find the best treatment for sleep apnea in Hollywood fl

There are 3 main types of sleep apnea:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA):

OSA is a common and serious sleep disorder that causes you to stop breathing during sleep. The airway repeatedly becomes blocked, limiting the amount of air that reaches your lungs. When this happens, you may snore loudly or making choking noises as you try to breathe. Your brain and body becomes oxygen deprived and you may wake up. This may happen a few times a night, or in more severe cases, several hundred times a night.

In many cases, an apnea, or temporary pause in breathing, is caused by the tissue in the back of the throat collapsing. The muscles of the upper airway relax when you fall asleep. If you sleep on your back, gravity can cause the tongue to fall back. This narrows the airway, which reduces the amount of air that can reach your lungs. The narrowed airway causes snoring by making the tissue in back of the throat vibrate as you breathe.

Common Signs and Symptoms of OSA:

  • Loud, disruptive snoring
  • Frequent breaks in breathing during sleep
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Morning headaches
  • Restless sleep
  • Irritability or depression

Causes and Risk Factors of OSA:

  • Overweight or obesity
  • Adults over the weight of 65
  • Enlarged tonsils or adenoids
  • Family history
  • Frequent alcohol use
  • Smoking

Levels of OSA:

  • Mild OSA: 5-14 breathing interruptions an hour.
  • Moderate OSA: 15-30 breathing interruptions an hour.
  • Severe OSA: 30 more more breathing interruptions as hour.

Central Sleep Apnea:

With Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), the airway is not blocked like it is with OSA. Rather, the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center. While OSA is a mechanical issue, CSA is more of a communication issue.  While CSA is significantly less common than OSA, with only 20% of all sleep apnea cases being CSA, it is still an extremely critical issue that needs to be addressed and treated.

Common Signs and Symptoms of CSA:

  • Shortness of breath that causes awakenings
  • Stopped or irregular breathing during sleep
  • Extensive daytime drowsiness
  • Morning headaches
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Restless sleep
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Snoring
  • Changes in mood

Causes and Risk Factors of CSA:

  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Obesity
  • Medical conditions that affect the brain stem
  • Certain medications
  • Heart failure
  • Adults over the age of 65

Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome:

Also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea or mixed sleep apnea, complex sleep apnea occurs when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea, as well as the signs, symptoms, and risks that comes with both. While this may seem uncommon, it’s not. In fact, 15% of all sleep apnea have complex sleep apnea syndrome.

Optimal treatment options for this type of sleep apnea still needs to be defined. However, CPAP devices have proven to be effective when set at the lowest possible pressure settings to keep the airways free from obstruction, but without enabling central sleep apnea symptoms to develop.

What’s Next? 

Regardless of the specific type, if you think that you or someone you love might have sleep apnea, it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible. Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can affect your quality of sleep, productivity, relationships, and overall health. Save you or your loved one’s life by contacting our experienced team for sleep apnea treatment today.

Our experienced team can help you stop snoring, finally achieve a great night’s sleep, and add years to your life by effectively treating your sleep apnea.

Tel: 954-982-7300
Email: Sleep@TLCDental.biz

For more information on all of TLC Dental’s services visit: http://www.tlcdental.biz

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