Do you sometimes wake in the morning feeling like you never slept? You have an achy head, a foggy mind and even your double-tall, extra shot latte doesn’t seem to help? And, to make matters worse, your sleeping partner says you snore. If this sounds familiar, you may be among the roughly 25% of adults who have one of two kinds of sleep apnea, or a combination of both.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common type. With OSA, breathing is abnormal because of a narrowing or closure of the throat.
- Central Sleep Apnea causes breathing to be abnormal because of a change in breathing rhythm or control.
Normally during sleep, air moves through your throat and in and out of your lungs at a regular rhythm. With sleep apnea, air movement is periodically diminished or stopped. Pauses in your breathing can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur thirty times or more an hour. As you wake and your airway opens, you may move briefly, snort or snore and take a deep breath. Less frequently, you may wake completely with a sensation of gasping, smothering, or choking. If you fall back to sleep quickly, you will not remember the event and may be unaware of your abnormal breathing patterns while sleeping. Unfortunately, waking from sleep many times at night can result in daytime fatigue.
You are more at risk if you:
- Are overweight
- Are male
- Have a small mouth or throat
- Still have your tonsils and adenoids
- Are middle age or older
- Have a family history of sleep apnea
Symptoms of sleep apnea may include:
- Snoring – but keep in mind that people with sleep apnea often snore, but not everyone who snores has sleep apnea
- Restless sleep
- Daytime fatigue, low energy
- Waking unrested or groggy
- Morning headaches, dry mouth, sore throat
- Waking suddenly with choking, gasping or a smothering feeling
Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can affect your long term health. There are lifestyle changes that may help, but when more conservative measures are not successful, we have other treatment modalities available – from custom made sleep appliances to surgical solutions. Call (303) 277-9600 to schedule an appointment, today.
