Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is the kind of condition that not everyone recognizes at first. For example, many people attribute the snoring that it causes to a simple snoring habit. Others might believe their daytime tiredness is just a normal case of being tired. However, these and other signs can often be a warning that your brain and body aren’t receiving the rest they need. This may be due to sleep apnea, which consistently interrupts your sleep and breathing cycles each night, often without you noticing it.
You can’t stop snoring each night
Chronic snoring is one of the telltale signs of obstructive sleep apnea. However, it’s also a common habit that many people experience it and doesn’t often have serious implications for their sleep patter. When snoring is caused by sleep apnea, however, it’s the result of oral tissues partially blocking the airway. This creates a smaller space for your breath to pass through, and the increased air pressure causes the tissues and walls of your throat to vibrate loudly when you inhale. This is only a precursor to the sleep apnea episode, which occurs when the airway is completely obstructed and both the breathing and snoring stop altogether.
You experience headaches in the morning
When you have sleep apnea, the snoring and cessation of breathing is a pattern that repeats itself over and over. Throughout the night, this leaves your brain and body with less oxygen, both during the strain of snoring and for the moments that you stop breathing, before your body wakes enough to clear the airway. In addition to repeated interruptions to your sleep pattern, the oxygen deprivation can lead to chronic headaches and migraines, especially when you first wake up in the morning. If these begin to grow more frequent, it may indicate the increasing impact of sleep loss caused by sleep apnea.
You feel like you haven’t slept
Chronic headaches and migraines are among several symptoms that might warn of you sleep apnea. Many others stem from the continued lack of deep sleep that’s caused by the interruptions to your body’s sleep pattern. For example, even when you believe you’ve slept soundly through the night, you may feel excessively tired, exhausted, irritable, or exhibit other signs of sleep deprivation. Treating your sleep apnea, preferably with a custom-designed oral appliance, can help restore your quality of sleep and alleviate these and the other symptoms of sleep apnea.
Learn if a sleep appliance can help you
If you notice these signs, then you may be suffering from sleep apnea and might benefit from wearing a custom-designed sleep appliance. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling the Dental Centre of Conroe in Conroe, TX, today at (936) 441-4600. We serve patients from Conroe and all neighboring communities.
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