What Actually Causes Sleep Apnea

Categories: Sleep Apnea

When obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) develops, serious complications could arise for both our immune system and cardiovascular system. To avoid these painful symptoms, you may need to seek treatment to identify and address OSA. In today’s blog, your Spring, TX, dentists will discuss how we diagnose sleep apnea and treat the issue with a custom-made and comfortable solution.

Factors Behind Sleep Apnea

A sleep apnea episode means the soft tissues in the back of our mouth and in our throat become too relaxed as we sleep, collapsing and cutting off airflow. We stop breathing until the brain, registering a drop in oxygen, wakes us. We rarely remember being woken, but this can happen hundreds of times each night, leaving us sleep deprived and exhausted. Factors behind the disorder include large neck circumference, deviated septum, sinus and allergy issues, excessive alcohol consummation, and sleeping on our backs. While teens and people of all genders can be impacted, this tends to primarily effect men over the age of 55. Warning signs may include waking up suddenly choking or struggling to breathe, headaches, dry mouth, irritability, difficulty concentrating on tasks at work or school, and difficulty staying awake behind the wheel.

Improving Your Sleep Habits

There are a few things you could start doing right now to improve your ability to rest. For example, sleep on your side, not your back. Avoid alcohol, large meals, or vigorous exercise in the two hours before bed. Make sure your bedroom offers a conducive environment for sleep, keep your room dark and cool. Avoid screens right before bed and don’t look at your smartphone while in bed, as the blue light tricks the brain into thinking it’s daylight. Maintain a regular sleep schedule as well, which means going to bed and waking up at the same times every day!

Diagnosing and Treating OSA

If you begin to experience the symptoms we discussed above, let us know. We can send you home with a small device that’s sits at your bedside and takes records of apneic episodes, blood-oxygen levels, and breathing exertion. We then look at the results and identify the presence of OSA. Treatment doesn’t need to rely on a noisy and cumbersome CPAP machine. Instead, we can craft a custom-made oral appliance that looks and fits like a mouthguard. The device then repositions the jaw to prevent the collapse of soft tissues and ensure you breathe without struggle or interruption throughout the night.

Ready for OSA Treatment?

Our team could offer treatment to help our patients rest easier and avoid the symptoms and complications of a serious disorder. To learn more about sleep tests and oral appliances, then call Houston Sleep Solutions in Spring, TX, at (281) 320-2000, or in Pearland, TX, at (832) 564-3508.