Snoring is a very common problem, and can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous condition.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops altogether because the airway becomes completely closed. Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing, partially waking you up. Normally, you automatically readjust and fall back to sleep. This cycle can occur more than 100 times an hour, and you may not be aware of it happening.
Snoring and sleep apnea cause sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation, which can lead to other health problems, including:
- daytime sleepiness
- low energy
- depressed immune system
- irritability
- memory problems
- slow reaction time.
Oxygen deprivation associated with sleep apnea leads to:
- heart attack
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- stroke
- diabetes
- insomnia
- depression
- morning headaches.
As you can see, snoring is more that a mere annoyance; it drastically reduces your quality of life and can lead to deadly health problems.
We will first send you home with a High Definition Pulse Ox Monitor to use for a night, this machine will give us the information we need to determine if a sleep study is needed.
We can help you stop snoring by fitting you for a Snore Appliance, similar to a mouth guard, that holds your jaw in a forward position; keeping the airway open.
