You may have or know of someone who has a problem with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can lead to serious health issues and even put someone’s life at risk. Here are some of health problems that can be related to sleep apnea.
1. High Blood Pressure
Sleep apnea can worsen a high blood pressure condition. Waking up frequently during the night stresses the body. The more stressed the body, the more the body excretes hormones. The increase in hormone production can raise your blood pressure levels. Also sleep apnea affects the oxygen level of your body which can also add to a high blood pressure problem.
2. Heart Disease
Sleep apnea disrupts the steady oxygen supply in your body. As a result, it is harder for your brain to control how blood flows through your arteries. Therefore, the low oxygen or stress of waking up often can lead to heart disease. And Strokes and atrial fibrillation (a quivering or irregular heartbeat) have been linked to sleep apnea.
3. Weight Gain and Obesity
Excessive weight can increase your chances of getting sleep apnea because obesity can cause fatty deposits in your neck that block natural breathing at night. On the other side of the coin, sleep apnea can make it harder to lose weight. The condition can make your body release more of the hormone ghrelin. This hormone makes you crave carbs and sweets. Additionally, the condition may affect how efficiently you burn fat which can lead to weight gain.
4. Type 2 Diabetes
Sleep apnea is common among people with Type 2 Diabetes. In one clinical study, over 80% of patients with Type 2 Diabetes also suffered from sleep apnea. Possibly one of the links between sleep apnea and Type 2 diabetes could be lack of sleep inhibiting the body from using insulin properly.
5. Accidents
Sleep apnea constantly causes your body to wake itself up. Your body then is not allowed to go through the entire four-stage sleep cycle—including the deep, restorative stages. Therefore, you may never reach the critical deep sleep stages where your body can fully rest and repair itself. The result is feeling groggy and fatigued. This can lead to accidents on the job or accidents while driving.
Treatment
If you suspect you may have sleep apnea or know of someone who does, we urge you to get it checked out and treated. We offer custom made oral appliances that effectively treat obstructive sleep apnea. You wear the appliances at night while you sleep. They adjust the position of your jaw to prevent chronic obstruction from occurring. We have different appliances we can offer.
Contact us now for more information.