Sleep Apnea Is A Serious Health Threat

sleep apnea Lafayette

At Gordon West DDS in Lafayette CO, we often see patients who say they have been struggling with deficient sleep for months or even years. Some of these individuals end up being diagnosed with sleep apnea or related conditions.

You Can’t Just “Tough It Out”

The reluctance to obtain professional help is lamentable, because sleep apnea takes such a high toll on health and reduces quality of life. If they are keeping someone up at night, it makes life more difficult for that person, as well.

Protect Your Health

For some puzzling reason, many individuals don’t consider sleep apnea a grave issue. Why the disconnect? We are talking about breathing, folks! There isn’t a biological activity more indispensable than that. And poor sleep can cause a myriad of serious health issues. It also impacts performance in every area of life; work, hobbies, and social activities.

Sleep apnea is a condition where you have frequent, recurring delays in breathing while you sleep. These lapses can last for up to 60 seconds and are usually caused by soft tissue in the back of the throat that relaxes and blocks the airway. As you can probably imagine, when the brain is not getting enough oxygen it hinders vital biological processes.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Cause: Throat muscles soften and cover the airway. This is the most prevalent type.

Central Sleep Apnea
Cause: The brain doesn’t send signals to the muscles that regulate breathing.

Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome (Treatment-emergent Central Sleep Apnea)
This is a combination of both conditions described previously. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20377631

Signs of Sleep Apnea

  • Loud snoring
  • Unexpected awakenings where you are choking or feel “out of breath”
  • Pauses in breathing while sleeping (as evidenced by another person noticing the behavior)
  • Sore throat or dry mouth after sleeping
  • Fitful sleep
  • Falling asleep while performing normal daily activities
  • Inability to concentrate during the day
  • Depression and irritability
  • Awakening with a headache
  • Extreme fatigue

If you experience any of these symptoms, we invite you to discuss it with us at Gordon West DDS in Lafayette CO. Sleep apnea is one of our specialties. We also provide general and family dentistry.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

303-665-5335

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

ArticleID 7564