If your partner snores, you are living with a major disturbance when you want to rest. While the inconvenience to you is annoying (unless you’re a heavy sleeper or can live with ear plugs), a bigger problem is what could potentially be causing your partner’s snoring habit: a breathing disorder known as sleep apnea.
The Side Effects of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is when the air going in and out of your lungs is intermittently obstructed. This breathing disorder does not allow the sufferer to get a sufficient amount of oxygen for significant periods of time. As a result, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure can be the result. Sometimes, sleep apnea can even lead to premature death. Clearly, sleep apnea is a problem that can affect your overall and long-term health.
Lack of quality of sleep, however, can also affect your stress levels and brain function. Any parent of an infant can attest to the brutality of sleep deprivation. When you experience interrupted sleep every night because of sleep apnea you can feel the same way as a new mom or dad – foggy, depressed, stressed, just to name a few.
While the bigger side effects of sleep apnea can greatly affect your overall well-being, it’s the disruption of daily life by a lack of sleep that may ultimately cause sleep apnea sufferers to seek help. And your dentist should be one of the first people you reach out to for assistance.
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The Modern Sleep Apnea Treatment
You have no doubt seen the breathing apparatus and mask that some people wear in movies or on television to help them sleep at night. Often used in a humorous fashion for the sake of entertainment, sleep apnea is no joke. And that breathing device, while helpful, can be cumbersome. It may also be so annoying that people stop using it, putting themselves at risk again of the side effects of sleep apnea. There is a better way to get that continuous flow of oxygen into your lungs while you’re sleeping.
As dental innovations go, a more modern oral appliance can be customized to your needs and used to help stop your snoring – spouses everywhere, rejoice! A sleep apnea guard will restore the even, continual breathing that you want to have when you sleep so you and whoever is sleeping near you will be well-rested.
The sleep apnea oral device is designed to be worn over both upper and lower teeth. In order to do its important work, this mouthguard of sorts realigns the position of your tongue and jaw. This maneuver keeps your airway open so air can continuously and easily flow through. Being able to easily use a mouthguard that pops in an out of your mouth makes sleep apnea very treatable. The device will definitely feel familiar to people who have gone through orthodontic treatment and worn retainers afterward.
Being able to relieve your sleep apnea condition means you will improve your overall health and be better rested. Both side effects will make you a happier and healthier person, and your partner will love you all the more for making this effort as well. Learn more about sleep apnea treatment and whether you need help with sleep apnea – contact Dr. Carole Sherrod Jewell in Red Bank, New Jersey.
