Is Sleep Apnea or Snoring Keeping You Awake?
Our Angier, NC office can help! Sleep apnea and other sleep-related problems can really affect your quality of life. Do you have trouble sleeping? Are you concerned that you stop breathing at night? Sleep apnea is when your body essentially chokes on itself, causing repeated episodes of partial or complete suffocation. These episodes can sometimes last a minute or more. Health complications can also arise from sleep apnea including, but not limited to increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or death.
So, what causes sleep apnea?
A collapse of the airway results in sleep apnea. This is usually due to the soft tissues in the mouth, tongue or throat closing down, which then blocks your airflow during sleep. Snoring is usually the first sign of this condition. Snoring happens when you are attempting to breathe through a narrow airway. If left untreated snoring often escalates to full OSA, which is when the narrow airway is completely blocked. Alarmingly, nearly 1 in 4 adults over 30 unknowingly suffer from at least mild sleep apnea.