Summer is finally here and that means more time outdoors, staying up late, and even traveling! If you have obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, we have some tips for you about traveling and sleeping well to keep your energy levels up wherever you go.

Poor Quality Sleep

Even without sleep apnea, travel can have a big impact on your sleep. Whether you’re camping in tents, renting a hotel room, and adjusting to a new bed, or crossing time zones flying across the country or internationally, any one of these can wreak havoc on your sleep quality. Just navigating the summer months can adversely affect your normal sleep habits since the days are longer, the nights are shorter, so you stay up later and tireder (especially if you aren’t using your sleep apnea device).

If you’re spending more time outdoors, you’ll also be exposing yourself to allergens that can make your sleep apnea worse (think of congested nasal passages and sinuses). Taking allergy medications and using saline nasal sprays can help you sleep better, but if you have OSA and aren’t camping in a tent, be sure to pack your CPAP machine or oral device so you can get good sleep in your hotel, Airbnb rental, family cabin or RV!

CPAP or Oral Appliance

Traveling with sleep apnea means packing whatever sleep gear you need to get a good night’s sleep (and not keeping those around you awake from snoring loudly all night long). Whether that’s your CPAP machine or an oral appliance, be sure to pack what you need in a protective carrier to transport it safely wherever you’re off to. Reconsider not bringing your CPAP device with you because even spending one night without it can leave you struggling to breathe and the constant fatigue that comes from poor sleep.

It’s a good idea to pack your CPAP in its own carrier bag while flying so you can pass through security while flying. Once you reach your destination, make sure you have access to distilled water for the humidifier and are able to plug into a power supply like an electrical outlet so it can deliver pressurized air while you breathe.

A custom oral appliance that keeps your airways open while you sleep can be a nice change when traveling because it’s compact and easy to carry. It’s great for making sure your airway stays open and makes more room for your tongue to sit without blocking the airway. Just be sure not to lose it or leave it behind when traveling back home from whatever destination you are leaving behind!

Getting Your Best Sleep

The benefits of continuing to treat your sleep apnea wherever you go means you won’t be snoring all night so you’ll wake up feeling better and maintaining your energy levels to do all the things you planned for your vacation. While traveling this summer, make sure your environment is comfortable, make sure it’s cool enough and limit sun exposure so you won’t be interfering with your body’s production of melatonin, that essential hormone helping you sleep and wake up refreshed.

No matter where you’re headed to this summer, have fun without sacrificing your sleep quality along the way. A good night’s sleep will give you the energy you need, whether you’re sightseeing, driving on the open road, or flying across the world to exotic destinations. Just like a toothbrush and toothpaste, your sleep apnea device is crucial to your health and mood.

We Can Help

If you’re experiencing sleep apnea or need help with your breathing while sleeping, we welcome you to consult with our sleep specialist. We have helped countless patients get the sleep they need and deserve.

The post What You Need To Know if You Are Traveling This Summer and Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea first appeared on Refresh Dental.

Do you get complaints about snoring in your sleep or feeling tired when you wake up instead of refreshed? If so, you might have sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition that can impact your quality of life. This breathing disorder can happen to anyone, and around 18 million Americans are affected. Sleep apnea creates brief pauses in your breathing while you sleep.

Back Sleeping vs. Side Sleeping

Positional sleep therapy is proven to prevent snoring or experiencing obstructive apnea by holding you in a side sleeping position that helps keep your airways from collapsing. There is even a side sleeping backpack to help you sleep in a position that minimizes snoring. It allows your body to recline and your throat airway open by creating an unobstructed passage for air to breeze through. And when you have more air getting in, the less likely you are to snore or unconsciously stop breathing while you catch those precious zzz’s!

Studies have shown to assess the effectiveness of PST in those who chronically experience obstructive sleep apnea or OSA. It is helpful for those who can’t handle using a CPAP device and found that positional OSA may be effectively treated using positional therapy.

What is Positional Sleep Apnea?

For patients with positional sleep apnea, a form of obstructive sleep apnea lying on your back, the supine apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is at least twice that when sleeping on one side. Gravity tends to take over when you are on your back, pulling the tongue closer to the back of your pharynx. It is an area of your throat on top of the esophagus and trachea. An American College of Chest Physicians study found that up to 60% of patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea had fewer symptoms when sleeping on their side instead of on their back. They also concluded up to 50% of those with sleep apnea might benefit from positional therapy.

Sleeping on Your Side With Positional Therapy

If your sleep breathing issues mostly come up when you lie flat on your back or you had a sleep study finding that you have normal apnea index when lying on your side, test the following. Try sleeping on one side or elevating your head with pillows to see if that makes a difference in your sleep quality. In addition to sleeping with a filled backpack, there are other creative ways to help you sleep on your side. You can buy an anti-snore shirt or put some tennis balls in a pocket that you sewed onto the back of your pajama shirt or nightgown. There are even posture alarm clocks that go off whenever you roll over and stay on your back while sleeping.

Sleep positioning therapy is worth trying if you have tried but can’t handle using a CPAP machine or are unable to afford it. It is also good when you travel a lot and don’t want to carry a CPAP machine around, especially if positional treatment and CPAP offer relief for patients struggling with positional OSA.

If you aren’t sure of your sleep apnea diagnosis, you may benefit from partaking in a sleep study to see if you have positional sleep apnea and not central sleep apnea. If you are currently experiencing poor sleep from chronic snoring or mild obstructive sleep apnea, try positional sleep therapy to see if that helps. You can also call us anytime to learn more or come in for a consultation. You deserve a healthy night’s sleep!

The post Sleep Positioning Therapy May Help if You Constantly Snore or Have Trouble Breathing While Sleeping first appeared on Refresh Dental.

If you hear complaints about your snoring habits, you are not alone. Sleep apnea affects around 22 million Americans, with 80 percent of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) cases going undiagnosed. This serious condition can affect your sleep partner, family, coworkers and friends. Your energy, health and work productivity can diminish from poor sleep quality.

What is a Mandibular Advancement Device?

Our sleep specialists can improve your sleep quality with a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD). As a jawbone and mandibular advancement device, a MAD works by advancing or moving your jaw forward so you can sleep without snoring. If you’ve ever seen an athletic mouth guard, you’ll understand how this device looks.

Sleep apnea causes you to experience partial airway obstruction to and from the lungs because of tongue or throat tissue collapse. The MAD device lessens blockages arising in the back of your throat as it moves your jaw and tongue forward to clear the area by making the upper airway bigger.

Your MAD will need to be fitted in your mouth and molded to your teeth. A good MAD advances your jaw forward incrementally until the proper balance between the back of your tongue and soft tissues in your throat is achieved and effectively halts your snoring!

MAD Options

You can get one of three kinds of Mandibular Advancement Devices: Boil and Bite MADs, Semi-Custom Devices and Custom Dental MADs.

1. Boil and Bite MADs: You can find these in your local pharmacy or by ordering online. You simply mold it to your mouth by warming it in hot water, letting it cool a bit, then inserting it into your mouth and biting down. It allows the silicone to mold to your mouth.

2. Semi-Custom Devices: You’ll need to get a custom mold of your bite and then send it out for customizing to your mouth.

3. Custom Dental MADs: Our sleep specialists can have your made custom-made to perfectly fit in your mouth and refined for a comfortable fit that can be adjusted incrementally.

However, you won’t be able to use a MAD while wearing dentures. But you can try wearing a Tongue Stabilizing Device (TSD) instead because it doesn’t sit on or attach to your teeth, unlike a MAD. A TSD effectively treats snoring and sleep apnea by holding your tongue forward while wearing dentures. If you have sleep apnea, we can help you find the best solution for your symptoms and snoring.

Maintenance Tips for Your MAD

Caring for your MAD is pretty straightforward; treat it like it is an extension of your teeth. You’ll want to get rid of bacteria and germs like you would when wearing dentures or clear aligners to straighten teeth. Soaking in hot water or with a denture solution can help as you clean it with a toothbrush. While some use mouthwash or toothpaste to disinfect the device, these chemicals can be harsh and abrasive, potentially damaging your device. It can take up to a week to achieve optimal comfort with your jaw as it is pushed forward while wearing your MAD.

If you are afflicted with chronic snoring, our sleep specialists invite you to call us to learn more about sleep apnea and how best to treat it. We have helped many people just like you once again get the quality sleep they need for a healthier and more productive life!

The post Do You Constantly Snore While You Sleep? Wearing a Mandibular Advancement Device Can Help! first appeared on Refresh Dental.

The theme for this year’s National Sleep Foundation: Sleep Awareness Week® 2022 is to help you become your Best Slept Self. The goal is to help you understand how important sleep is to your overall mental and physical health.

Sleep Awareness Week® begins at Daylight Saving Time (DST) as most of us move our clocks ahead (spring forward), losing a precious hour of rejuvenating sleep. Since this nocturnal deprivation affects all of us, we want to highlight this information so you can understand the benefits of a good night’s sleep and how it helps you feel your best.

National Sleep Foundation History of Sleep Awareness Week

For more than 30 years now, the National Sleep Foundation has been researching and reporting on the importance of sleep. It began in 1998 when the National Sleep Foundation came into being because poor sleep is a public safety hazard every time you get on the road sleep deprived. Like alcohol, drowsiness can lessen your reaction time, as if you were driving inebriated. Around seven percent of motor vehicle crashes in our country and 16 percent of fatal crashes link to driver drowsiness. And that’s not all. Statistics confirm that chronic lack of sleep and poor sleep can cause accidents and injuries while working. Excessive daytime sleepiness impacts cognitive abilities like the following:

• Attention
• Alertness
• Concentration
• Problem-solving abilities
• Reasoning

Not only do the physical effects of sleep deprivation lead to neurological and psychological disorders like reduced immunity and depression, but it also impacts your cardiovascular health, making you vulnerable to hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.

Your goal is to wake up feeling completely refreshed. Children ages 6-13 years typically need nine to 11 hours each night, while teenagers 14-17 years generally require eight to 10 hours a night. If you are 18 to 64 years old, seven to nine hours of sleep a night is optimal. For those over 65, seven to eight hours of good quality sleep is ideal for improving outlook, mood, and attention span.

Boosting Sleep Quality

Slide under those sheets at the same time every night so your body can acclimate to a regular sleep-wake schedule. Get regular exercise during the day, and avoid blue light from your smartphone, tablet, and computer before bed. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy and fried foods late in the day as they interfere with restful sleep. Keep your bedroom temperature comfortable; a good range is 60 to 67 °F. Keep out light and noise with light-blocking curtains, an eye mask, a white noise machine, or a pair of earplugs that can help you settle into a restful sleep. Stick to a consistent bedtime and wake-up time every day so your body can fall into that rhythm.

Fun Fact: taking a hot shower, bath, or just a foot bath can help you relax and improve sleep!

Sleep Awareness Week Activities

Hopefully, you are excited to get the sleep you need to have a healthier, happier life. Here are three things you can do now to recognize Sleep Awareness Week:

1. Share the news about Sleep Awareness Week, and use the hashtag #SleepAwarenessWeek to spread awareness on your social media outlets.

2. Adopt one new daytime habit that supports healthier sleep! Start a workout routine, write in a gratitude journal before bed or practice soothing yoga or meditation before hitting the sheets.

3. Give yourself something to look forward to by investing in a mattress that supports your body, a comfortable pillow that supports your neck and back, and changing your sheets often so your body sighs with relief.

We hope you enjoy learning about Sleep Awareness Week so you can achieve the quality sleep you need! Please call our team if you have questions or concerns about your sleep quality, especially sleep apnea. We are here for you!

The post These Sleep Awareness Week Tips Can Help You Get the Quality Sleep You Need first appeared on Refresh Dental.

Knowing basic facts about trouble sleeping can come in handy for sleep apnea. Probably the biggest obstacle to a good night’s sleep is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Did you know that sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed?

This sleep disorder leaves you struggling to sleep well, repeatedly pausing your breathing throughout your night from over-relaxation of the muscles at the back of your throat, causing collapsed tissue in the back of the throat. In fact, you might have OSA if you consistently snore loudly or gasp yourself awake constantly. And since around 30 million adults in our country have OSA, you are in good company. Here are some facts that could help you in your quest for a decent night’s sleep.

Sleep Apnea Facts You Need to Know

• The most common forms of sleep apnea are OSA and central sleep apnea (CSA). With OSA, your throat muscles relax too much, allowing the soft tissue to collapse and block your airflow. With CSA, your brain fails to signal your body’s breathing control system, so, in essence, you forget to breathe!
• Sleep apnea can affect anyone, including children (and even babies who succumb to CSA), but typically because of medical conditions like tonsils that are too big or from the adenoids blocking the airway while sleeping.
• Your risk of sleep apnea is greater as you age. If you are a woman, you are at higher risk after you reach menopause, with the most common symptoms manifesting as fatigue or insomnia.
• Undiagnosed (and therefore untreated) sleep apnea can seriously impact your overall health with severe conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and even depression.

But here’s some good news. Lifestyle changes can lower the severity of sleep apnea! One of the simplest ways to get healthier sleep is losing that extra weight. Staying away from alcohol or quitting a smoking habit can have a profound effect on sleep apnea symptoms. Even something as simple as sleeping on your side instead of your back can keep your airway open. Positional therapy is used to overcome sleep apnea by wearing a device that keeps you from turning over onto your back or using gentle vibration to signal your body to change positions while you sleep.

Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea

If you have any of the following, you may be at higher risk for sleep apnea:

• Your family has a history of people with sleep apnea
• You have a small upper airway
• You are overweight
• You have a recessed chin, small jaw, or a large overbite
• You have a big neck size (17+ inches as a male, 16 + inches as a female)
• You smoke, drink alcohol or take certain medications
• You are 40 years old or older
• You have diabetes or high blood pressure

Disability and Social Security

Did you know that sleep apnea is also considered a disability? It is officially classified as a disability under certain criteria, especially if it affects your mental, physical, and emotional health by obstructing your quality of life. It can also heighten stress levels if you continually experience the following:

• Fatigue
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Heart problems
• Irritability
• Metabolic problems
• Relationship problems (keeping your SO awake with your snoring)
• Type 2 diabetes

As you can see, ignoring your signs of sleep apnea is not the best idea. It’s better to have a sleep study done to assess your sleep apnea symptoms and determine the most helpful treatment to get your mental, emotional and physical health back to optimal levels. You don’t need to live with the harmful effects of sleep apnea on your mind and body! Call our experienced team today to address your questions and concerns about sleep apnea!

The post Learn the Facts About Sleep Apnea and Get the Help You Need first appeared on Refresh Dental.

When it comes to your new year’s goals to feel better, don’t forget to put getting a good night’s sleep on your list. Improving your quality of sleep can help you just as much as getting in those gym workouts! Your quality of sleep can either help or hurt your health and well-being.

Generally speaking, adults require anywhere from seven to nine hours of good quality sleep nightly for optimal health, mental focus, and emotional well-being. You’ll notice that you have the energy it takes to accomplish your daily tasks. Following are some ways to help you get a good night’s sleep so you can achieve your new year’s goals!

• Go to bed at the same time every night: A routine helps your body develop a sleep-wake cycle that meets your daily needs. Without this established cycle, you could lay awake instead and not be able to fall asleep when you want. You can support your body’s ability to regulate your sleep cycle by going to bed and getting up at the same time every night, whether it’s the weekend or weeknight. It trains your body to lock in its circadian rhythm.
• Shut off those electronics: If you’re like most folks, you likely go to bed and settle in just to read or scroll through your phone, iPad, or laptop. These electronics, along with TVs, give off a blue light that dampens your body’s melatonin production (your body’s hormone that facilitates falling asleep). Even spending just 15 minutes on your phone can keep you awake for an entire hour later than you intended. Better to stay off your phone for two or three hours before you want to fall asleep.
• Boost your bedroom’s ambiance: Surround yourself in a quiet, darkened room at a temperature that is cool enough to make you want to snuggle under your covers, relax and drift off to sleep land. It might mean getting blackout curtains to dampen outside light or using a white noise machine to dampen outside sounds. Make sure your mattress is comfortable for your needs. A good rule of thumb is to replace it if it is more than seven years old and you wake up after a night’s sleep feeling all those aches and pains instead of well-rested.
• Establish healthier daytime habits that will help you sleep better at night: Being around bright light (particularly sunlight) supports your body’s wake/sleep cycle. Going outside will give you the natural light and fresh air your body craves. Don’t forget movement (walking, running, exercising, etc.) can all help you feel relaxed later when you’re trying to sleep. (Caution: Avoid napping during the day because it can disrupt your wake/sleep cycle.)
• Don’t eat or drink these before you go to bed: Eating a heavy meal before bed can interfere with your sleep cycle as it requires your body to energize digestion. Avoid caffeine later in the day because it disrupts your body’s ability to slow down for sleep. Avoid alcohol before bed as it diminishes your sleep quality while putting you at greater risk for obstructive sleep apnea, leaving you feeling tired and exhausted when you wake up instead of refreshed.
• Optimize your sleep quality by having a sleep study: Sleep disorders are so common that anywhere from 50 and 70 million American adults experience some form of sleep disorder. Around 22 million Americans experience sleep apnea, with 80 percent of those ranging from moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea are undiagnosed. If you are one of them, you are vulnerable to the following health conditions: high blood pressure, chronic heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity)

Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment

Whether you find yourself battling chronic insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, we can help! An overnight sleep study can determine your brain wave activity, breathing patterns and heart rate to diagnose your particular sleep issue. Once an assessment is made, we can help you find the treatment you need. If getting a good night’s sleep is a priority for you in 2022, our treatment options can help you achieve your goals!

The post What Are Your New Year’s Goals for a Good Night’s Sleep? first appeared on Refresh Dental.

Now that the clocks have reset to fall back to standard time and the days are growing shorter, many of us may have noticed a reduction in our sleep quality. We may feel tired, sluggish, and just not ourselves, wanting to slow down even as the holidays have amped up in full swing. But that is not the only thing that can cause sleep deprivation and leave us feeling wiped out. In fact, those who experience Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can also end up with mood disorders without treatment.

It is no secret that problems sleeping can lead to psychological problems, especially when the lack of sleep is constant. When it goes on long enough, we can find ourselves feeling angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. Some may even find themselves developing a panic disorder. Here is what you need to know about how sleep deprivation does to your body (and mind):

The Psychological Repercussions of Sleep Deprivation

While getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to functioning well throughout the day, for most of us, that can be accomplished with at least eight hours of sleep a night. So if you have sleep apnea, you’ll likely feel unrested even when you get a full night’s sleep. And if it goes untreated long enough, you can find yourself experiencing hallucinations; seeing and hearing things that aren’t actually occurring. Other psychological issues might include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Impulsiveness
• Paranoia
• PTSD
• Stress

Just think about how you feel when you get a poor night’s sleep. You’re tired, sluggish, slow, anxious, and irritable; more so if it happens multiple nights in a row. And if nothing changes, then your entire quality of life is somehow impacted, and not in a good way. At some point, sleep deprivation brings on chronic mood disorders like depression, bipolar, or anxiety, leaving you feeling irritable, short-tempered, and susceptible to stress, especially if you struggle with ongoing obstructive sleep apnea.

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

With OSA, you are experiencing pauses in your breathing throughout the night. The soft tissues in your airway collapse throughout your sleep cycles, leaving a blockage that keeps you from getting enough oxygen. You (or your partner) may notice that you constantly wake up choking, gasping or snoring. Untreated, chronic oxygen deprivation in the bloodstream may lead to heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Sleep Apnea and Mood Disorders

Studies indicate that obstructive sleep apnea increases your chances of mood disorders including depression and anxiety, especially if you are a woman. The good news is the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that people struggling with depressive symptoms improved after being treated with correct CPAP therapy. According to the AASM, 96% of patients reported an improvement in their mental health and fewer thoughts of suicide!

The goal of sleep apnea solutions is to allow you to get the healthy sleep you need to more than just function day-to-day, but to thrive! The most common and effective treatment for OSA is AutoPAP therapy using an AutoPAP machine, also called a CPAP machine that delivers continuous, ideal air pressure during the night.

Since sleep quality and mood are intricately connected, ultimately, you need good sleep for optimal well-being, including good moods and mental states.

Insomnia and Psychological Problems

As you can see, there is a definite relationship between psychiatric and psychological problems and sleep quality. In fact, trouble sleeping can be one of the first signs of depression. Studies have also noted that 15 to 20 percent of people who are diagnosed with insomnia often develop major depression. If you are not getting enough quality sleep and suspect you might have a sleep disorder, we encourage you to reach out to our team for more information. You deserve a good nights’ rest!

The post Discover the Connection Between Chronic Low-Quality Sleep and a Serious Mood Disorder first appeared on Refresh Dental.

Did you know that the shorter days of winter can impact your biochemistry? As the autumn days grow shorter and sunlight diminishes, you will want to be proactive about your health, especially if you live with sleep apnea. Making sure you get enough vitamin D boosts your serotonin production, which regulates your sleep-wake cycles. Lack of vitamin D from reduced sunlight can leave you feeling depressed, extra drowsy and craving carbs.

Then there is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), whereas the season changes, leaving you feeling moody, sleepy, and chronically hungry. It is because it lowers your sleep efficiency, especially the all-important slow-wave sleep. SAD treatment is available through white light therapy, medications to boost serotonin levels, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to guide thinking so you can cope with stress in healthy ways.

Winter Related Health Issues

• Headaches: Headaches often get worse whenever the weather gets rainy or humid from barometric pressure changes.
• Dietary Health: As the temperature plummets, your body craves high-calorie foods and warm, sweetened beverages. Consume nutritious foods like omega-3 fats from oily fish, walnuts, soybeans, and flaxseeds to support your health during the colder weather. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and give your body the moisture it needs.
• Relaxation: Slow down and breathe with gentle yoga, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation to get your energy moving in a good way and feel better.
• Mood: Monitor your mood, and watch out for depression and fatigue. Bundle up and spend time outside in the sunshine to soak up the sun. Open your blinds and curtains so you can bask in the natural light when indoors.
• Breathing: The changing weather also brings cold and flu season, making it harder to breathe and sleep, worsening any respiratory conditions and sleep disorders you already have, especially sleep apnea.

Thriving During Winter With Sleep Apnea

If your winter climate causes drops in humidity levels, dry indoor air and smoky fireplaces make breathing worse. Forced air heating with a furnace can also expose you to dryer air and allergens (such as dust mites) that may trigger allergy symptoms. Humidify your home when possible, and cover your mouth when you are outside. Instead, breathe through your nose so you don’t dry out your airway or lungs.

Your Sleep Apnea in Winter

Breathing problems caused by sleep apnea tend to worsen during the colder months. During the winter months, patients experience more nighttime breathing stoppages in comparison to patients treated for sleep apnea during the warmer months. The AHI is the sum of the number of apneas (pauses in breathing) plus the number of hypopneas (periods of shallow breathing). It tracks how your disrupted breathing affects your oxygen levels (typically higher in the winter).

Experiencing a clogged nose, fever or sore throat can also make your snoring worse. So what can you do? Make sure your CPAP is as clean as possible during the colder, drier months, so be sure to clean it every day! For better indoor air quality, invest in a humidifier, even if your CPAP has a humidification setting.

If you end up with a cold or sinus issue and your nose is too stuffy to breathe, a full face mask may help. Cold air dries out your nasal passages, lessening the necessary mucus that otherwise helps keep germs out of your body. Keeping the air moist can help. Be sure your CPAP air is warm and moist, as well as the air in your bedroom.

If you have sleep apnea, winter is the time to reexamine your health so you can do everything you can to get the essential sleep your body needs to thrive. Please give our team a call if you have any questions or concerns about snoring or sleep disorders. We are always ready to help!

The post Autumn Is Here! How Will the Cold Weather Impact Your Health and Sleep Apnea? first appeared on Refresh Dental.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition where you temporarily stop breathing throughout the night. When this occurs, your breathing pauses, leaving you with a sudden drop in your blood oxygen levels before starting up again. You might have sleep apnea if you wake up with chronic dry mouth, headaches, trouble sleeping, daytime fatigue and moodiness. This condition comes in three forms: Obstructive (OSA), Central (CSA), and Complex.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

OSA leaves your upper airway partially or completely blocked while you try to get a good night’s sleep. When this happens, the muscles in your chest and diaphragm have to work overtime to try to get the blocked airway to open and pull air into your lungs.

Things to prevent this include staying away from alcohol anywhere from four to six hours before turning in. Losing weight and even sleeping on your side help tremendously. Just a 10 percent drop in weight can lower your respiratory disturbance index (RDI)! Weight loss also reduces blood pressure, improving snoring and your pulmonary function. The easiest version to treat is mild sleep apnea, while moderate-to-severe typically involves using a CPAP machine to treat your sleep apnea. The kind we tend to see most is OSA, where your airway is blocked when the tongue and throat relax too much.

Central Sleep Apnea

CSA occurs when the brain forgets to breathe because of the central nervous signals for breathing. If both of these happen, we call it complex sleep apnea syndrome. So someone using a CPAP device to control their OSA may find themselves developing central sleep apnea with its accompanying breathing patterns referred to as complex sleep apnea. It often happens when you are suffering from a medical condition like heart failure and stroke. It can also arise when sleeping at a high altitude. You will want to schedule an exam if you experience these symptoms:

• Shortness of breath that wakes you up
• Have pauses in your breathing while sleeping
• Trouble staying asleep
• Serious daytime drowsiness where you fall asleep during normal tasks like driving

Treating central sleep apnea:

• Fixing medical issues like heart failure might improve central sleep apnea
• Lowering opioid medications
• Wearing a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask
• Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) adjusting the delivery of pressurized air
• Bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) delivers pressure when you breathe in and out
• Supplemental oxygen
• Medications like acetazolamide to stimulate breathing
• Surgery

Complex Sleep Apnea Causes

Complex sleep apnea is a combination of the two sleep apneas above (OSA and CSA). It involves having the obstruction of OSA and then developing breathing patterns called “treatment-emergent central apnea” while being treated with a CPAP device.

• Your CPAP machine could be providing too much or too little air pressure
• Your CPAP mask could be leaking
• You gain excess weight
• Narcotic drugs and opioids can suppress the activity in your central nervous system, like heroin, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, etc.

Possible Treatment Options

• Lose weight to lower your apneic events and possibly eliminate your sleep apnea
• Use a positive airway pressure (PAP) machine to keep your airway open with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure), and VPAP (variable positive airway pressure) machine.
• Use a CPAP along with oxygen.
• Get a sleep study done to ensure the CPAP is working for your symptoms.
• Use an Adaptive Servo Ventilation (ASV) tailored to your unique needs as your breathing stabilizes.
• Take acetazolamide, a prescription drug for opioid therapy, to reduce the depressant effects.
• As your complex sleep resolves, you may be fine just using an oral apnea appliance to keep your airways open.

Getting Help

When it comes to your overall health, a good night’s sleep is essential! To achieve this, you need to understand the type of sleep apnea you have. Whether mild, moderate, or severe, the right treatments can help you win your battle against poor sleep. We are here to help you with your sleep apnea symptoms. Call to learn more!

The post The Differences Between Obstructive, Central and Complex Sleep Apnea first appeared on Refresh Dental.

A new year has begun, and with it, resolutions to get healthier and happier. One thing that can help achieve both of those goals is making sure you get the good night’s sleep your mind and body need to thrive! It’s no secret that exhaustion can drag down one’s mental and physical day to day performance. Anxiety, depression, and chronic headaches are all related outcomes after ongoing nights of poor sleep, not to mention a host of physical problems you might incur.

To support your quest to get the best sleep possible, we have some facts about sleep apnea that might help you! Along with a supportive mattress and better general health goals overall, understanding what sleep apnea is and how to treat it can make your 2021 a powerhouse year for you!

There are three types of Sleep Apnea:

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: where the airways are blocked because of the throat muscles intermittently relaxing.

2. Central Sleep Apnea: where signals from your brain aren’t properly sent out to the muscles controlling your breathing.

3. Complex Sleep Apnea: where you have both obstructive and complex sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Facts

-Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition affecting nearly 30 million adults in the U.S. alone as it pauses your breathing while you sleep. Women with sleep apnea often underreport their snoring and find themselves saddled with fatigue and insomnia.

-Sleep apnea can easily go unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. This is when having a partner who complains about your excessively loud and frequent snoring, gasping, or choking
as you sleep can be a good thing as they alert you to your condition!

-Untreated sleep apnea raises your risk factors for high blood pressure, motor vehicle accidents, heart disease and attack, stroke, diabetes and other serious medical conditions.

-Sleep apnea can happen at any age from infants to seniors. Children tend to have sleep apnea from enlarged tonsils and adenoids that block their airways during the night. Aging invites sleep apnea as well, especially for women after menopause.

-Making simple lifestyle changes can help lessen the severity of chronic sleep apnea. This is where your new year’s health goals such as weight loss can turn around your sleep apnea. Achieving your healthy goal weight can improve your nighttime breathing, as can quitting a smoking or alcohol habit to improve your sleep quality.

-Even changing your sleeping habits can help sleep apnea, particularly if you use positional therapy where you sleep on your side instead of your back. This can reduce blockages in your throat while treating nasal allergies can improve your nighttime breathing as well.

-Medical intervention, such as sleeping with a continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) machine, can improve air pressure and ease breathing. There are also oral appliances that position your mouth and throat so that airflow is increased, like bringing the lower jaw or tongue forward.

-Other sleep apnea solutions might involve having some form of surgery like removing or lessening the tissue blocking your airways, as can repositioning your jaw or having a tracheostomy when other options have been exhausted.

Get the Help You Need

In the end, no matter how many facts you know about sleep apnea, nothing will make a difference if you ignore your snoring or other symptoms of sleep apnea. If you have been told that you snore or gasp or stop breathing in your sleep, this is a good indication that it is time to see our sleep specialist to have a sleep study test (polysomnography). It’s important to find out if you suffer from sleep apnea and the severity of your condition.

Call Today!

We are trained to help you get the best sleep possible by treating your sleep apnea. We are ready to help you achieve your best health by getting the sleep your mind and body needs to thrive. Call today to schedule your consultation with our experienced team and make 2021 the year you feel your best!

The post If Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Is on Your New Year’s List for Better Health, These Sleep Apnea Facts May Help! first appeared on Refresh Dental.