Exercising, a healthy diet, and regular checkups with your doctor contribute to cardiovascular health. Interestingly, you can do all these and still develop chronic conditions due to poor sleep quality. When you have sleeping problems, your cardiovascular and overall health will be in jeopardy. The only way to restore your quality of life is by seeking treatment for sleep apnea in Commack. Read on to know what the Chase Dental Sleepcare team has to say about sleep apnea.
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How Does Sleep Apnea Differ From Snoring?
Sleep apnea is a condition that develops when your upper breathing muscles relax as you sleep. This prevents you from receiving oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide due to a pinched airway. Each time you stop breathing, your brain signals you to wake up. The condition mainly affects overweight people, but it can also do the same for those with average weight.
Snoring, on the other hand, is a sound created by airway resistance. It is possible to have sleep apnea and snore simultaneously, but the two are different. Snoring does not mean you have sleep apnea and vice versa. A snorer can produce sound decibels of 40 and not have sleep apnea.
How Sleep Apnea Can Affect Your Health
Frequent breathing difficulty when sleeping can affect your health in the following ways:
1. Lack of concentration
A goodnight’s sleep should last between 6-8 hours. Losing sleep can interfere with your day-to-day activities due to a lack of concentration. The mind needs plenty of rest to function effectively. If you do not address the problem immediately, your lack of concentration can affect your health.
2. Unexplained fatigue
Breathing interruptions cause your body to work even when you are sleeping. As a result, people with sleep apnea feel fatigued during the day, preventing them from getting a peaceful night’s sleep.
3. Dry mouth
The back and forth process of gasping for air due to sleep apnea causes sufferers to open their mouths when sleeping. Unfortunately, this causes their saliva to dry up. As a result, some people wake up with headaches due to low oxygen intake and high CO2 levels during sleep.
4. It worsens chronic conditions
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, sleep apnea can worsen your condition. Each time your body wakes at night, the stress levels rise, overworking your hormones. As this keeps happening, your blood pressure levels also increase. The only way to restore your blood pressure after discovering you have sleep apnea is by seeking treatment immediately. Since the condition develops due to denied oxygen, a sleep apnea specialist can treat you through oral appliance therapy and other treatment solutions.
Seek Treatment for Sleep Apnea Before It Gets Out of Hand
When you have sleep apnea, performing your daily tasks becomes stressful. In addition, taking sleeping pills, alcohol, and other sleep-inducing medications can worsen your sleep apnea and make you dependent. A doctor can customize a suitable medical plan to restore your quality of life. To learn more about sleep apnea and other sleeping conditions, schedule a consultation with your doctor at Chase Dental Care today.