The quality and consistency of your sleep plays a significant role in your overall wellbeing. Unfortunately, you may not always realize when you have trouble sleeping soundly, especially if your sleep is disrupted by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Sleep apnea is a chronic sleep disorder that can interrupt your sleeping pattern by forcing you to stop breathing for moments at a time. Today, we explore what this could mean for your sleep and breathing patterns, and why you should take it as a serious concern if you experience symptoms of sleep apnea.

What a sleep apnea episode means

Sleep apnea is often mistaken as a less serious snoring habit, mainly because frequent snoring is a telltale sign of the condition. Having sleep apnea means that your airway becomes clogged by mouth and/or throat tissues as you sleep. The obstruction is gradual, and as it grows, you’ll begin to snore increasingly louder until you stop breathing altogether. In a moment, the lack of oxygen forces your body and brain to wake up enough to clear the airway, which interrupts their descent into deeper stages of sleep.

Interrupting your sleep and breathing patterns

The dangers posed by consistent sleep apnea episodes involve the interruptions to both your breathing and your sleep patterns. The direct result of a sleep apnea episode is that your breathing becomes increasingly labored as it’s forced through a shrinking airway, which causes you to snore louder and louder. This can lead to long-term problems with your cardiovascular health if it continues unabated. The cessation of your breathing when your airway closes exacerbates the problem, and the interruption to your sleep cycle can create additional problems with your systemic wellbeing. These can include the negative health impacts that can result from being chronically deprived of quality sleep.

Sleep apnea’s impacts to your daily life

When you don’t get enough sleep each night, you can eventually begin to experience the symptoms of sleep deprivation. If you have sleep apnea, you may believe that you’re sleeping peacefully each night because you’re unaware of the sleep apnea episodes that interrupt it. However, the inability to fall into deep levels of sleep can begin to impact your daily life in several ways. For example, you may become exhausted or excessively tired faster each day, suffer from an inability to concentrate, experience mood swings, and more.

Learn if we can help you treat sleep apnea

If it’s allowed to continue long enough, sleep apnea can begin to have serious consequences on your quality of life and your overall wellbeing. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling the Dental Centre of Conroe in Conroe, TX, today at (936) 441-4600.