If, while sleeping, you experience interruptions in or obstructions to your breathing you may be suffering from sleep apnea. Affecting about 1.5% of women and 3.5% of men in Britain sleep apnea mainly occurs in those over forty year of age. For periods of about five seconds at a time your throat muscles relax and the airways are temporarily blocked.
Sleep apnea can have many detrimental effects on the life of a sufferer. Car crashes and other accidents become more likely as those afflicted will have reduced reaction times. There is also evidence that resulting hypertension can bring on heart attacks and strokes. When your muscles relax and your airway closes a message is sent to your brain and your deep sleep ends so that oxygen can get to your lungs once more. The disruption to sleep is extremely inconvenient.
Those who are overweight are more likely to be afflicted as are smokers and people who consume alcohol just before sleep. Consumption of sleeping pills or the use of sedatives can also increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. Hormonal changes too mean that chances of apnea are higher but studies have also shown that it is a genetic condition which runs in families.
Your Central Leeds dentist can help in the diagnosis of the condition and can then proscribe one of several devices to help stop it. Dentists have access to the afflicted areas which include the tongue and soft palate at the rear of the mouth. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) involves wearing a mask while sleeping which ensures a continual flow of oxygen into the lungs. Inter oral devices (IOD) are less effective than CPAP but also less cumbersome as they are smaller and fit into the mouth.
Contact your Central Leeds dentist today if you are worried about sleep apnea.
Tags: sleep apnea
