Daytime Exhaustion and Sleep Apnea
Do you often wake up after what you thought was a full night’s sleep and get started on your day, only to almost immediately feel exhausted? Is it difficult to concentrate during the day, or does your brain feel “fuzzy”? Do you doze off at your desk? If your days are a blur of tiredness or your work is suffering because you are struggling to stay awake, you may have sleep apnea.
How Do I Know If I Have Sleep Apnea?
If you snore throughout the night, feel tired during the day, or have experienced other health complications such as an increase in blood pressure, you should speak with your physician about sleep apnea. Other symptoms of sleep apnea include periods of not breathing during sleep, waking with a sore throat or dry mouth, headaches, and irritability. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed by conducting a sleep study along with observation and examination by a physician. Sleep studies can be performed in the lab or at home with equipment and training provided by your physician.
Sleep Apnea Treatment
The most common treatment for sleep apnea has been continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which is a machine that generates of oxygenated air pressure through a mask that you wear throughout the night to prevent your airways from closing. However, CPAP is not the only treatment available for sleep apnea, and for people who are unable to tolerate the CPAP, alternative treatments are available.
Oral Appliances to Treat Sleep Apnea
Oral appliances are devices are designed to help your throat stay open during sleep. Some oral appliances bring your jaw forward to alleviate snoring, while others re-position the tongue to prevent it from blocking airways. They are effective and can often result in better compliance from patients who would otherwise forego treatment if forced to where a CPAP machine for treatment.
If you believe you may have sleep apnea, contact eos dental sleep today. We specialize in the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea using oral appliance therapy and strive to help our patients get a good night’s sleep.