We treat sleep apnea at our clinic and can help you to feel more energized, which will improve your quality of life. According to the CDC, 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep condition. You could be one of them if you constantly feel fatigued, regardless of how much sleep you actually get. If you wake up as tired as you were when you went to bed, have trouble staying awake at night, nod off while driving or working at the computer, snore or make choking noises in your sleep – you could have sleep apnea.
What causes obstructive sleep apnea?
Generally, this condition is caused by the lower jaw falling backward at night and the tongue falling with it. The tongue then blocks the airway, preventing you from getting enough oxygen. As a result, the body responds by snoring, choking, and gasping for breath. Naturally, this makes it difficult to sleep soundly, causing people to wake up throughout the night. Also, without the right amount of oxygen, the body will remain fatigued even after waking up.
Why should I treat sleep apnea before cold and flu season?
The amount of sleep that you get can directly impact the functionality of your immune system. Not only does the amount of sleep matter, but the quality of sleep does as well. You need to be able to get deep sleep and breathe freely when you do. Otherwise, your immune system will not be able to function properly. This means that you will be more likely to catch a common cold or the flu. You will also be more prone to catching any other infection that is floating around this fall and winter. In addition, the way your body responds to an infection will change. With a compromised immune system, you can stay sick for a longer period of time. A lack of sleep also impacts a key step in your body’s ability to fight infection – the fever. Getting a fever is the body’s way of killing a virus or bacterial infection, and fevers tend to spike at night while you are sleeping. Without good sleep, your body may be unable to produce the fever that it normally would, keeping the virus in your body for a longer period of time.
How do you treat sleep apnea?
While the side effects of a sleep disorder can be severe, the treatment is not. We can provide you with a non-invasive solution that is small, makes no noise, and is comfortable to use. All you need to do is schedule a consultation to get started. We will examine you, discuss your symptoms, and set you up with an at-home sleep study. We will then review the results, and if you have sleep apnea, we will fit you for a removable oral appliance. This is done by taking an impression of your mouth along with measurements. This information is then sent to the dental lab so that your oral appliance can be created. Once you receive it, wear it at night like a retainer, and your jaw will remain in the forward position so that you can breathe without your airways being obstructed.