The thing about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is that it can have a multitude of impacts on your health and quality of life before you even realize that you have it. As one of the more common sleep breathing disorders, sleep apnea is known for interrupting your sleep cycle by forcing you to stop breathing repeatedly. While you might not be consciously aware of these episodes, they can still occur hundreds of times a night. This deprives you of deep sleep, inhibits your oxygen intake, and can lower your quality of life due to its resulting health risks.
Loud, chronic snoring
Sleep apnea causes you to snore chronically every night, but it isn’t the same as typical, minor cases of snoring. When snoring indicates sleep apnea, your snoring will follow a distinct pattern of growing increasingly louder (as your airway becomes more obstructed) and then stopping for several moments (as your airway is completely obstructed). The cycle starts again when your body clears the airway.
Less and less energy
Constantly interruptions to your sleep make it impossible for you to enter rapid-eye movement (R.E.M.) sleep. Before long, you can begin experiencing symptoms of sleep deprivation, such as depleting energy levels that grow worse each day. Daytime fatigue, difficulty waking up or staying awake, trouble concentrating, and more can all indicate sleep loss due to sleep apnea.
Worsening overall health
The less rest your mind and body get, the less able they are to fight off illness and disease. Your immune system grows weaker and you can experience increased instances of getting sick, suffering allergies, and more. It can also lead to heightened risks of chronic systemic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more.
Improve More than Just Sleep with a Sleep Apnea Appliance
Sleep apnea can have dramatic effects on your quality of sleep and life. Therefore, treating the condition can have many different significant benefits. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling the Sunny Smiles dental office nearest you in El Paso, TX, today! We have offices in the East, Northeast, and Westside of El Paso, and happily welcome patients from all nearby communities, including Chaparral, Canutillo, Vinton, and Sunland Park, New Mexico.