When Snoring Is More Than a Nuisance
- Posted on: Feb 15 2017
Sleeping next to someone who suffers from chronic snoring feels like you are sleeping next to a bear— it’s loud and a bit frightening. If you or a loved one suffer from snoring, it can not only disrupt those around you, but it may also be interfering with your sleep cycle as well— especially if it turns out that you have sleep apnea. What is sleep apnea and how is it diagnosed? Read on to learn more about this disease.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
In simple terms, sleep apnea is a sleep condition that causes your breath to either stop or become disrupted as you sleep— resulting in snoring or the lack of breathing entirely. By preventing you from ever reaching the proper sleep cycle and by increasing your likelihood of a heart attack, if you think you have sleep apnea, you need to have it taken care of immediately.
How Is It Diagnosed?
Snoring alone isn’t indicative of sleep apnea. However, if you wake up feeling extremely tired even after eight or more hours of sleep, you may want to get checked. By conducting a sleep study, your doctors will be able to watch your sleep patterns, monitor your heart and breathing, and then diagnose you.
How Is It Treated?
When it comes to treating sleep apnea, there are a variety of treatment options. The most common treatment option is a CPAP machine which applies a small amount of air pressure on your lungs to open up your airways and help you breath more easily. In rare conditions, if a CPAP doesn’t help to improve your breathing, you may be eligible for a surgical procedure to help remove excess tissue in your airway.
Snoring may be something your kids or friends like to tease you about, but it could be indicative of a more critical problem like sleep apnea. If you think that you may have sleep apnea or if you would like to learn more, contact David Sorenson at Blue Water Dental of St. John’s today!
Posted in: Sleep Apnea