What Are The Warning Signs of Sleep Apnea & Problem Snoring?

The Beacon Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic in Sandyford, Dublin 18, collaborates with major hospital sleep disorder clinics and other specialists and have been active in the development and use of oral sleep appliances in the area of Dental Sleep Medicine in Ireland over many years.

For such a widespread condition, many people aren’t aware of sleep apnea symptoms and health impacts, including everything from snoring to fatigue.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes your breathing to stop and start continuously while sleeping. There are several risk factors for sleep apnea, including obesity, having a large tongue or tonsils or having certain medical issues, like heat or lung diseases.

The disorder can negatively affect your quality of sleep, leading to less restful nights and daytime tiredness. If untreated, sleep apnea can pose serious health problems, potentially increasing your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and depression.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?
Since sleep apnea occurs while you’re sleeping, you might not even know you have it, but your partner may be able to point out some of the signs. Common sleep apnea symptoms include:

Loud snoring: When your airway is blocked from sleep apnea, it’s harder for oxygen to get through. The reduced airflow can cause your throat tissue to vibrate, which results in snoring.

Breathing that stops and starts while you’re asleep: Sleep apnea can cause your throat muscles to relax, which can then constrict your airway and stop your breathing momentarily.

Gasping, choking or snorting: You may experience these symptoms as your body tries to correct your breathing during sleep.

Feeling tired during the day: Because sleep apnea interrupts your sleep, you may wake up feeling tired or not well rested.

Waking up with a dry mouth: Since it’s harder to breathe with sleep apnea, you may overcompensate by breathing with your mouth open, which can dry it out (known as xerostomia).

Getting up frequently to use the bathroom at night: Some people with sleep apnea experience nocturia, which is a condition that causes you to wake up repeatedly during the night to urinate.

Impaired focus: A lack of restorative sleep can impact your ability to concentrate in your day-to-day life.

Irritability: Similarly, when you don’t get enough restful sleep, you may feel more irritable or frustrated during the day.

Types of sleep apnea
There are two different kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. While the symptoms are similar, the causes are different. Here’s how they compare.

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea also restricts air from getting through your throat while you’re sleeping. It occurs when the soft tissue in your airway gets blocked during sleep and results in less airflow into your lungs and, in some cases, snoring, choking, or gasping. Like central sleep apnea, this disorder is more likely to occur in men and seniors.

There are a few causes of obstructive sleep apnea, with obesity being one of the most common. Other possible contributing factors include having a large or thick neck, heart failure, endocrine and metabolic disorders, smoking and a family history of sleep apnea.

Central sleep apnea

With central sleep apnea, your breathing stops, starts and becomes more shallow as you sleep. It’s triggered by a miscommunication between your brain and the muscles that you use to breathe and is less common than obstructive sleep apnea. According to the Sleep Foundation, the disorder is more prevalent in men and people over 65.

Central sleep apnea is usually caused by other medical conditions, which include heart failure, stroke and kidney failure. Ongoing prescription drug use and sleeping at a high altitude are other potential causes of this type of sleep apnea.

Health impacts of sleep apnea

From your heart to your liver, sleep apnea can have wide-ranging impacts that affect many parts of your body. These are some of the most common health issues associated with the disorder.

Cardiovascular issues

When your breathing stops during the night, your body releases stress hormones, which can eventually lead to coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. On top of that, sleep apnea negatively impacts your quality of sleep, which can have detrimental effects on your heart health as well.

Excessive fatigue

If you have sleep apnea, the constant stopping and starting of your breathing can make it difficult to get a restful night’s sleep. As a result, you may feel fatigued during the day. Being tired all of the time can trigger a host of other issues, like mood changes, depression, and concentration problems. It can also weaken your immune system and make it dangerous to drive.

Type 2 diabetes

Research has found that people with OSA are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and more than half of people with type 2 diabetes have sleep apnea. Plus, sleep apnea deprives the body of oxygen, which increases insulin resistance and raises glucose levels – so dealing with this disorder can worsen your type 2 diabetes.

Liver issues

Obstructive sleep apnea raises liver enzymes and is linked to the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a medical condition where excess fat builds up in the liver. If you have NAFLD, you may be at a higher risk for other health issues, including cirrhosis and liver failure.

Risk factors

There are a number of risk factors that influence your chances of developing sleep apnea. Here are some of the most prevalent ones.

Age

While people of any age can have obstructive sleep apnea, it’s more widespread among older people, and the chance of developing it increases as you age. Central sleep apnea is most common in people 60 and over.

Gender

Men and those assigned male at birth have a higher risk of developing sleep apnea, but the chances start to even out as people get older. For women, menopause increases the chances of getting sleep apnea.

Medical conditions

People with certain health conditions — including some thyroid and heart problems — may have a greater likelihood of contracting either type of sleep apnea. On top of that, medical conditions like hypertension, nasal congestion, diabetes, and asthma can also create a bigger risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

Weight

Studies indicate that being overweight or obese is a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. That’s because heavier individuals tend to have more fat deposits in their necks, which can block their airways.

Family history

Having a family history of sleep apnea ups the chance of developing the disorder. The reason is that genetics help determine the size and shape of someone’s neck area — a larger area makes it easier to get obstructive sleep apnea. Genes also play a role in how the brain controls breathing, which could raise a person’s chance of developing central sleep apnea.

Lifestyle

Drinking and smoking have been shown to raise the risk of obstructive sleep apnea because alcohol relaxes your throat muscles and tobacco increases inflammation in your airway, both of which restrict breathing.

What is Oral Appliance Therapy?

An oral appliance is a device worn in the mouth only during sleep. The device fits similar to a sports mouth guard or orthodontic retainer and prevents the airway from collapsing by either supporting the tongue or jaw in a forward position, thereby opening the airway.

With a custom-fitted oral appliance, we can help minimise or eliminate the symptoms of Sleep Disordered Breathing. Sleep apnoea (in mild to moderate cases) including loud snoring, gasping and unpleasant noises.

The device can also act as an alternative treatment for patients (on medical advice only) who have been prescribed CPAP by their medical consultant, finding it difficult to adhere to this therapy for the management of their sleep apnoea condition.

How does Oral Appliance Therapy Work?

Oral appliances hold the lower jaw in a forward position, dilates the upper airway and preventing it from collapsing. This helps to:

• eliminate or reduce snoring noise levels
• improve sleep quality and general energy levels on wakening
• treat sleep apnoea disease progression
• improves bed partners sleep quality of life.

The Beacon Dental Clinic provide the following additional services

• Referral from consultant led medical diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing, noisy loud snoring and suspected sleep apnoea.
• CBT referral or medical advice for sleep disorder management.
• Dietician and weight management referral if indicated.
• Dental health care education.
• Dental Hygienist service and dental health care education
• Advanced restorative prosthodontic care
• Routine in-office dental healthcare

 Click here to download the Beacon Dental Sleep Patient Brochure

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