Sleep Apnea Symptoms and Treatment | Schmakel Smile Design

Losing sleep because your partner snores all night? Worried he or she may be unhealthy or have a medical condition? While it’s often regarded in a humorous vein, snoring can be a sign of a potentially serious condition called Sleep Apnea. If these thoughts have crossed your mind, read on and educate yourself about sleep apnea symptoms and treatment.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a relatively common disorder that causes you to take shallow breaths or pause in your breathing while you sleep.

Pauses in your breathing can last from a few seconds to minutes, and you could experience this 30 times or more every hour! Typically after the pause, you’ll resume breathing again, (you may hear your spouse make loud noises during sleep, like snorting or choking sounds).

As you can guess, sleep apnea is an unhealthy, and usually chronic, condition that disrupts your sleep. When you pause in breathing, you move out of deep sleep and into light sleep. As a result, you won’t get a good night’s sleep (and neither will your spouse), which can dramatically affect your day. Sleep apnea is a leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness, in addition to various other symptoms.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea symptoms can range from mild to severe. If you have sleep apnea, you may:

Wake up with a very dry or sore throat
Snore (one of the most common signs in obstructive sleep apnea)
Occasionally gasp or choke as you wake up
Be extremely sleepy or lack energy during the day
Get morning headaches
Wake up often to use the bathroom
Sleep restlessly
Be forgetful, moody, or uninterested in sex
Suffer from insomnia

Quiz: Does Your Spouse have Sleep Apnea?

Worried your loved one or spouse may suffer from sleep apnea? Ask yourself if your spouse:

Snores loud enough to disturb your sleep?
Is excessively tired or fatigued during the day?
Stops breathing during sleep?
Wake up feeling groggy, or with a headache?
Have a neck size greater than 17 inches?
Have difficulty remembering things or concentrating on tasks.
Experience excessive daytime drowsiness that causes him to fall asleep while he works, watches TV, or even drives?

If your partner has one or more of these symptoms, he is at higher risk for having sleep apnea. (However, the presence of any of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean that he has sleep apnea.)

What to Do

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, encourage your spouse to talk with a medical professional about it. Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health problems over time, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and weight gain.

Once diagnosed, treatment for sleep apnea may include one or more of the following:

Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or a similar machine that uses positive airway pressure to help you breath
Oral breathing devices or other devices (such as nasal dilators) worn at night

Getting treatment if necessary can mean better health, increased energy, during the day, and a better night’s sleep for all!

Sleep Apnea Treatment in Toledo & Sylvania

With more than 27 years of dentistry experience, Dr. Larry Schmakel offers comprehensive snoring and sleep apnea services. We treat this disorder using Oral Appliance Therapy (O.A.T.) which includes custom fit mouth pieces that re-position the lower jaw while you sleep to create more airway space. Dr. Schmakel works closely with all of the Sleep Labs and Pulmonologists in the Toledo area to facilitate the best treatment for you, his patient!