Can Snoring Be Turned Into Sleeping Beauty?
Honey, could you stop snoring please? This innocent statement heralds trouble ahead,usually made by a desperate individual who cannot take your snoring anymore. If you are having problems sleeping or if your partner is always complaining about your loud snoring it is most likely that you are suffering from sleep apnea.
There is no need to panic because advances in medicine have made treatment of this condition possible. Before you start seeking treatments, it is imperative to get some basics on this sleeping disorder. It will help you to make an informed choice while also reassuring you that your condition is treatable.
Demystifying Sleep Apnea
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA), this medical condition causes involuntary cessation of breathing while a patient is sleeping. These breathing pauses can last for a few seconds to minutes and occur up to a hundred times in a night.
During these pauses, you will snore loudly and the disruption of natural sleep means you only enjoy light sleep throughout the night. Consequently, you will have problems concentrating during the day, which can be dangerous in some work situations.
It can be categorized into three categories. These are:
?Obstructive sleep apnea: This takes place when the soft tissue at the back of your throat relaxes thus blocking the airway. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), over 18 million people suffer from this category.
?Central sleep apnea: It manifests when the central nervous system does not function properly. The brain fails to signal breathing control muscles leading to choking. It does not involve loud breathing and ASAA reckons it forms a large percentage of the 50% undiagnosed apnea cases in the US.
?Complex sleep apnea: This is a complicated combination of the central sleep and obstructive sleep apnea.
To determine the type of condition afflicting you, a visit to the dentist is crucial.
Why You Need Timely Diagnosis
The fact that 80-90% of sleep disorders remain undiagnosed should be a major worry. They say that a stitch in time saves nine, which is why you need to seek treatments if you have some of these symptoms:
?Screaming morning headaches
?Hypersomnia characterized by excessive day time sleepiness
?Abrupt awakening due to cessation of breathing
?Insomnia
?Loud snoring
In short, if you have problems enjoying your night's sleep then a visit to your dentist to seek sleep apnea treatments is advisable.Some of the problems that may arise if you ignore your incessant snoring include depression, sexual dysfunction, high irritability, memory problems, cardiovascular disease and a host of other dangerous health conditions.