Sleep apnea is a little known condition that doesn’t seem hazardous to healthy living, with little to no symptoms other than snoring. However, it is an insidious condition that blocks the airway just enough for the individual to stop breathing for a few moments in their sleep. Although the body has a reflex mechanism to cough or gag in order to get breathing to continue, if you happen to stop breathing for 10 seconds every 2 minutes over the course of the evening, you will reduce your oxygen intake over 30-40% over the course of the sleep cycle. This leads to morning heaviness, fatigue throughout the work day, and decreased over-all production in normal work activities or child rearing. This condition is especially evident in patients who are overweight or have been diagnosed with medical conditions such as diabetes. Untreated sleep apnea in Mission Viejo, California, can contribute to several serious health conditions including heart disease and high blood pressure. If you have any of the symptoms below and your regular physician is scratching his head as to why you are feeling the way you do, you owe it to yourself to ask your dentist to see if sleep apnea is affecting your life.
Common sleep apnea symptoms include:
- Extreme tiredness throughout the day
- Irritability and changes in personality
- Difficulty sleeping
- Snoring
- Waking up with a sore or dry throat
- Morning headaches
A traditional way of treating sleep apnea is through the use of a CPAP machine which forces air into your body. However, before you subject yourself to an annoying machine compressing air under your bed, or strapping a breathing mask to your head throughout the night, ask Dr. Moon for sleep apnea treatment or TMJ correction in order to open the airway and allow your body to breath normally throughout the evening so you can be your best self the next day. Call our office at 949-348-1212 today to plan your visit.
