Important Facts About Sleep Apnea You Should Know
Sleep apnea is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions to exist. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, about 85% of people who have sleep apnea do not seek treatment for it and remain undiagnosed. It is important to learn more about sleep apnea so that you can take control of your health and understand the risks you are taking by not receiving treatment. Keep reading to learn more about sleep apnea and five lesser-known facts about sleep apnea, including that CPAP isn’t the only sleep apnea treatment option.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is defined as the occurrence of at least 5 episodes per hour of sleep during which respiration temporarily ceases. As mentioned, although OSA is a relatively common medical condition, it is believed that more than 85% of patients with clinically significant OSA have never been diagnosed. This means that it is estimated that as many as 1 of 5 adults has at least mild symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, while 1 of 15 has moderate to severe symptoms.
Obstructive sleep apnea is an underrecognized and underdiagnosed medical condition, with a myriad of negative consequences on patients’ health and society as a whole. Symptoms include daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, and restless sleep. Undetected obstructive sleep apnea can lead to hypertension, heart disease, depression, and even death. Several modalities exist for treating obstructive sleep apnea, including continuous positive airway pressure, oral appliances, and several surgical procedures. However, conservative approaches, such as weight loss and alcohol and tobacco cessation, are also strongly encouraged in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. With increased awareness, both the medical community and society as a whole can begin to address this disease and help relieve the negative sequelae that result from it.
Fact 1: You Don’t Have to Be Obese to Develop Sleep Apnea
One of the lesser-known facts about sleep apnea is that you do not need to be obese to develop it. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for sleep apnea because the extra weight on the face and neck can cause obstructions. As such, it is common for overweight and obese individuals to develop sleep apnea. However, people who are not obese may develop sleep apnea, as well.
Other than excess fat around the neck and face, there are many reasons that an individual could develop an obstruction. They include a family history of sleep apnea, large tonsils, severe sinus or allergy issues, drinking alcohol, smoking, and much more. One of the main treatments for sleep apnea includes certain lifestyle changes in order to eliminate some of these factors.
Lifestyle changes that could significantly reduce someone’s sleep apnea symptoms include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Exercising
- Limiting alcohol
- Limiting certain medications, especially sedative medications
- Quitting smoking
- Sleeping on your side or stomach instead of your back
- Limiting caffeine
- Treating allergies and nasal congestion
- Using pillows that prop up your head a little higher
Fact 2: It Can Cause Deadly Health Complications
Sleep apnea can cause repeated pauses in breathing throughout the night, even up to hundreds of episodes, as well as gasping and severe, loud snoring. It is rare to die in your sleep due to these episodes; however, sleep apnea can cause you to develop plenty of other deadly health conditions.
Snoring is not the body’s natural way of breathing; breathing through the nose is, because it acts as a filter and allows only clean oxygen into your body. When you snore and breathe through your mouth, your body is allowing in all the toxins that would normally be filtered out. This can cause low-quality oxygen to enter the body, causing a host of issues.
In addition, your body becomes stressed out when it breathes through the mouth. As a survival mechanism, your body will wake you up several times throughout the night, especially to urinate, and this stress can cause long-term complications when experienced night after night.
Some of the deadly health conditions that can develop due to untreated sleep apnea include:
- Memory loss, which can lead to dementia
- Low energy
- Excessive stress
- Cardiovascular issues
- Erectyle disfunction
- Obesity
- Weight gain that is difficult to lose
- Depression and anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Increased risk for automobile accidents
Fact 3: Snoring Is The Most Common Symptom, But Not The Only One
Snoring is the most common symptom of sleep apnea. According to the National Institutes of Health, over 94% of people with sleep apnea will experience snoring. Snoring isn’t just an annoying, loud habit that your partner has—it is the number one hallmark symptom of a much larger health issue and should be taken very seriously.
Although snoring is the most common symptom of sleep apnea, it isn’t the only one. This is one of the reasons that sleep apnea is so dangerously underdiagnosed: People have no idea that they snore at night unless their bed partner or other housemate alerts them to it, and even then, they do not take it seriously.
If you snore, you probably also experience some of these other lesser-known, yet common, symptoms of sleep apnea:
- Gasping for air
- Pauses in breathing
- Frequent night awakenings to urinate
- Headaches in the morning
- Dry mouth
- Excessive daytime drowsiness, sleepiness, and fatigue
- The “need” to nap, drink coffee, or have energy drinks to “get through” the day
- Weight gain
- Difficulty losing weight
- Erectile dysfunction and low sex drive
- Irritability, depression, and anxiety
- Difficulty focusing and remembering things
Fact 4: Sleep Apnea Can Occur At Any Age, Including Children
Did you know that sleep apnea can occur at any age? It is most common in older adults, but even children can get it. This means that if your child frequently mouth-breathes or snores, they may be suffering from pediatric sleep apnea.
Some of the signs of pediatric sleep apnea, in addition to the other symptoms of sleep apnea, include:
- Heavy breathing while sleeping
- Very restless sleep and sleeping in unusual positions
- Bedwetting (especially if a child had stayed dry at night)
- Daytime sleepiness or behavior problems
- Sleepwalking or night terrors
- Difficult to wake up in the morning
- Hyperactivity, often mistaken for ADD or ADHD
- Tired all day
- Difficulty focusing at school
- Difficulty remembering things
Some of the ways your child’s health can be impacted by undiagnosed pediatric sleep apnea, in addition to the other health risks mentioned earlier in this blog, include:
- Impaired brain development
- Reduced academic performance
- Cardiovascular issues, like high blood pressure
- Altered metabolism
- Behavior problems
If your child snores, is a mouth breather, and has hyperactivity issues, it is important to rule out sleep apnea as the issue so that they do not become misdiagnosed with another health condition and prolong their treatment journey.
In addition, if you have been told that you snore but don’t think you are old enough to have sleep apnea yet, you are wrong. As mentioned, people of all ages—from infants to the elderly and everyone in between—can be diagnosed with sleep apnea. If you are at all concerned about your health or wondering whether or not you may have sleep apnea, it is important to speak to your doctor.
Fact 5: You Don’t Need a CPAP to Treat It
Another one of the major reasons that sleep apnea is so underdiagnosed is that people do not want to deal with having a CPAP machine. There are many reasons for this, including:
- They carry a stigma. People who have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine can, due to stigma, be branded as unhealthy. This is incorrect, as many healthy people, including professional athletes, can suffer from sleep apnea. It is due to an obstruction and is not an indicator of how healthy or unhealthy you may be.
- They are loud. Sleep apnea machines can be loud, which does not offer much relief for bed-sharing partners. They can also be difficult for the user to get used to and are not ideal for people who have other roommates or housemates.
- They are uncomfortable. CPAP machines require you to wear a large mask on your face that covers your mouth and nose. It is strapped to your head in multiple places, which can be very uncomfortable for people to get used to.
- They are large. CPAP machines are big and are difficult to travel with, make room for, and accommodate many people.
- They require maintenance. CPAP machines need to be cleaned regularly in a very specific way and, just like other machines, require maintenance and part changes. This can be difficult for older users with limited abilities, as well as young users who do not care as much.
- They have been part of dangerous recalls. CPAP machines are not perfect—they have been part of dangerous recalls that have involved parts flying off in the tube and causing choking to users.
- They require a lifelong commitment. CPAP machines do not cure or treat sleep apnea. They simply force air into your airway. This means that the moment you stop using a CPAP machine, your sleep apnea will return.
Luckily, there is more than one way to treat sleep apnea that doesn’t involve invasive surgery or a dangerous, annoying CPAP machine.
The Vivos Method for sleep apnea treatment includes treatment regimens that employ proprietary CARE appliance therapy and other appliances that alter the size, shape, and position of the soft tissues that comprise a patient’s upper airway and/or palate. The Vivos Method opens airway space and may significantly reduce symptoms and conditions associated with mild-to-severe OSA in adults, such as lowering Apnea-Hypopnea Index scores. Vivos also employs a marketing and distribution model that collaborates with sleep.
In addition, the Vivos Method will give you results in as little as one year, depending on your commitment to treatment. Compared to the lifetime sentence of a CPAP machine, the Vivos Method is the ideal way to treat sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea Treatment from Gorman Health and Wellness
If you want sleep apnea treatment without a CPAP machine, we are one of the few providers who have the ability to prescribe the Vivos Method. All you need to do is contact us, get a sleep assessment, and we will examine you to determine the exact cause of the obstruction. From there, a treatment plan will be developed custom to you and your needs.
Dr. Gorman is a part of the breathing wellness movement, which aims to increase awareness and improve treatment for sleep-related airway conditions like sleep apnea. He has partnered with organizations focused on collaborating with dentists to apply the sciences of Craniofacial Epigenetics (the study of cranial modifications caused by gene expression as opposed to genetic code alteration) and Pneumopedics® (the practical application of oral appliance therapy and non-surgical airway remodeling) in the management of sleep apnea.
Together, the application of these sciences allows for the underlying causes of airway obstruction to be treated in 98% of cases, resulting in a high success rate among sleep apnea patients. Our state-of-the-art technology, paired with Dr. Gorman’s experience with sleep disorders, allows him to find the most effective treatment plan for each individual’s particular case, yielding improved daytime and nighttime breathing for the patient.
“I have been helping people suffering from Sleep Apnea with a non-invasive, clinically approved treatment method. This method has allowed my patients to sleep with far fewer events per hour, allowing them to get rid of their CPAP and BiPAP machines. Imagine not having to use one of those machines, getting back a much greater quality of life along with the benefits of being able to breathe better.” – Dr. Gorman.
For more information on Dr. Gorman, improving your sleep apnea, and decreasing your chances for deadly health conditions, contact us today by visiting us at MGormanDental.com!
