Get Some Rest with Jordan Elbridge Family Smiles
The alarm went off and you hit snooze – again. Mornings are miserable and daytime can be even worse. You never feel as if you have had a night’s sleep even when you know you have been in bed a full eight hours. Meetings are a constant struggle and you drink way more coffee than you know you should. You even get sleepy while you are driving, and you are getting truly concerned about your safety. Your wife says you snore, but that couldn’t be causing all this trouble – or could it?
Snoring is one of the first signs of something much more serious, especially if it also involves choking and gasping for breath. All that noise you are making at night isn’t just keeping your bed partner awake – it is keeping you awake too.
It is sleep apnea and currently, it’s estimated that 18 million people in the United States have sleep apnea!
Sleep Apnea is Dangerous to Your Health
Daytime sleepiness is one of the leading causes of accidents and work-related injuries, and sleep apnea is often the cause. But sleep apnea can cause much more than sleepiness and fatigue.
While some people equate sleep apnea with snoring, it also causes patients to stop breathing, sometimes hundreds of times a night and for up to two minutes at a time. When your breathing stops, your brain wakes you. This combination of oxygen deprivation and constant waking can have serious, even life-threatening effects on your health.
And yet, people suffering from sleep apnea are rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even when they experience constant waking. We often see patients who have suffered for years without diagnosis or help. Many people have dealt with sleep apnea for so long that they begin to feel that the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance is normal!
Health Problems Caused By Sleep Apnea
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Acid reflux
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain
- Worsened fibromyalgia
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Tiredness
- Dry mouth
- A sore throat
- Insomnia
- Inability to sleep through the night
- Restlessness during the night
- Short term memory problems
- Memory/concentration difficulties
- Intellectual deterioration
- Snoring
We want to help you get a good night’s rest and protect your health. If you have any of the following symptoms, please give us a call right away. We can help you find the right diagnosis, guide you through treatment, and offer a non-invasive oral appliance to comfortably treat mild to moderate sleep apnea without a bulky CPAP machine.