Snoring every night can come with its own set of unique problems. You might constantly wake up your sleeping partner, leading to tension and arguments when you aren’t sleeping. It might also impact your cardiovascular health to some degree if it happens often enough. For some people, chronic snoring is even more troublesome than that – it may be an indication of a much more serious sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. If you snore too much or think that you might have sleep apnea, then your best course of action may be to visit your dentist as soon as possible and talk about finding a solution.
The difference between snoring and sleep apnea
Snoring can occur for a variety of reasons. If you’re especially tired, for instance, your mouth and throat tissues can become so over-relaxed that they collapse into your airway while you sleep. If you snore constantly, though, this obstruction may be occurring more frequently than you realize, and for more than just because you’re tired. Sleep apnea occurs when the obstruction completely blocks your airway, and you may be suffering from it if:
- Your snoring is punctuated by moments of silence – Sleep apnea means to stop breathing in your sleep due to the airway obstruction of your mouth and throat tissues. The snoring associated with it grows louder as the obstruction grows more severe, and then it stops as you stop breathing. If your snoring fits this pattern, then you may have sleep apnea and should talk to your dentist about it as soon as possible.
- Your snoring is almost comically loud – Snoring is associated with being loud, but the noise varies depending on its cause and severity. Soft snoring can sometimes be peaceful; loud snoring is more often obnoxious. Snoring associated with sleep apnea is especially loud, as it involves a more serious airway obstruction than usual. Extremely loud snoring, followed by silence, could be a clear sign of your sleep apnea.
- You start to feel tired faster every day – When you stop breathing in your sleep, your brain and body stop receiving oxygen. Appropriately, they’ll panic after a few moments, which interrupts their decent into deep sleep. These interruptions won’t always wake you from consciousness, but they’ll stop you from reaching R.E.M. sleep all the same. Before long, you can experience sleep deprivation symptoms, including daytime fatigue, due to the interrupted sleep cycle.
Stop snoring and treat sleep apnea
If you have obstructive sleep apnea, then your habit of snoring loudly could indicate more trouble than you realize. To learn how to stop snoring and treat sleep apnea, schedule your consultation by calling Family First Dental in Overland Park, KS, today at 913-381-2600.