Sleep Well This Year With a Small Oral Appliance
This year, our team at Matthew J. Cavendish, DDS in Phoenix, AZ wants you to make the decision to get better sleep for the sake of your health and the safety of those around you.
That’s why today’s blog is devoted to the dangerous sleep disorder known as sleep apnea, the surprising health risks that come with it, and how our team can help you get the rest you need in 2018!
Snoring Can Reveal a Serious Health Problem
Many people snore from time to time. But nightly snoring that’s loud enough to keep you and those in your household awake will affect everyone.
The reason snoring is such a common symptom tied to sleep apnea is that your airways become blocked, which creates a lot of strain on your throat muscles. The snoring is a result of your body’s desperate attempt to get air despite the tightening airways while you sleep.
Health Problems Tied to Sleep Apnea
While loud, chronic snoring can sure be annoying, sleep apnea also comes with several other, even more dangerous, symptoms that put you, and those around you, at risk:
Depression & Moodiness
When you have sleep apnea, your body is constantly being taken on a wild roller coaster ride of surface sleep and wakefulness.
One of the unfortunate consequences is exhaustion. If you’re an adult who has a job and a family, it’s almost impossible to manage it all under constant fatigue.
The result is irritability and moodiness. It’s one of the many ways your family, friends, and co-workers can suffer right along with you.
You can become snappy and irritable toward the people you care about, and this can cause undue strain on your relationships.
It can also lead to an even more serious health problem, which is chronic depression.
Sleepwalking
As if it weren’t bad enough that sleep apnea keeps you from falling into a deep sleep each night, it can have a domino effect on other nightly patterns that put you in harm’s way.
You could start talking in your sleep, which isn’t necessarily dangerous, but it can make it hard for your sleep partner to get rest.
Other sleep apnea sufferers report problems with sleepwalking and eating in the middle of the night without ever even knowing it!
The danger of sleepwalking is more obvious, but eating while you sleepwalk can lead to choking, as well. Not to mention inexplicable weight gain!
Concentration Issues
As an adult, you have so many daily responsibilities, your ability to focus is always being tested. When you have sleep apnea, you’re already at a disadvantage because you’re completely worn out as soon as you wake up.
Losing your concentration can lead to careless mistakes on the job. It can affect your ability to maintain daily tasks that demand your attention, and this can be a potential hazard, for you and those around you!
Dr. Cavendish can treat your sleep apnea so you can feel rested and refreshed when you start each day. This will help you, your family, and your co-workers are less vulnerable to your inattention to detail.
Risk For Accidents
We live in an age of technology that makes us accessible 24 hours a day. Because of that, we’re constantly vulnerable to distractions.
Couple that with sleep deprivation, and you have a recipe for disaster!
What we mean is, sleep apnea can leave you feeling sluggish and distracted, a combination that can put you at more risk for accidents. Those accidents can be work-related, which is dangerous if you work in a hazardous environment that demands your constant attention.
And what about your commute to and from work? When you’re constantly fatigued, you’re more prone to car accidents, which is something that threats every driver, let alone the most tired ones!
Hypertension & Heart Problems
This may be the most disturbing and dangerous health risk associated with sleep apnea. The vicious pattern this disorder perpetuates night after night puts your heart under tremendous stress.
That’s due to the lack of oxygen your body has, which forces your heart to work even harder to pump your blood to the rest of your body in an attempt to compensate. All of that undue strain can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure.
What our team in Phoenix, AZ can do is lower your risk for these dangerous health problems by helping you breathe freely while you sleep.
An oral appliance, much like a mouthguard, is worn while you sleep that will position your jaw in such a way that air can flow easily, preventing obstructions for a more restful night. This will alleviate the constant stress on your heart and blood vessels.
Let Us Help You Rest Well Again!
Dr. Cavendish and our team in Phoenix, AZ have years of training and experience helping patients rest well again.
It’s not only to help those in your household sleep without the loud snoring they’re used to hearing. It’s to help you get the deep sleep your body needs for optimum health and your mind needs to start each day feeling refreshed!
Let Matthew J. Cavendish, DDS help you get the sleep you need for a great year! Call us today at 602-835-1304 or fill out our online form to schedule an appointment.