Sleep Apnea & Snoring Treatment

Snoring is a common problem that affects people of all ages and genders. Snoring is certainly unpleasant and in many cases it is a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. It can be caused by several factors, some of which are temporary while others are chronic.

The vibration that causes snoring is typically caused by the soft palate and uvula, which vibrate as air passes through them. Snoring may also result from the vibration of the adenoids and tonsils.

Temporary Causes:

• Being overweight or obese narrows your airway.
• Drinking alcohol before bedtime depresses your central nervous system and relaxes muscles in your throat and nasal passages, reducing airflow to your lungs.
• Sleeping on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway.
• Having nasal congestion from a cold or allergies makes it hard to breathe through your nose and forces you to breathe through your mouth. When you breathe through your mouth, it's more likely that you'll snore.

Chronic causes include:

• Deviated septum (a shift in the bone and cartilage dividing the nostrils).
• Enlarged adenoids (glands located at the back of the throat above the tonsils) or tonsils.

Snoring affects 45% of adult men and 30% of adult women occasionally. For approximately 25% of people, snoring is a nightly occurrence. Snoring can seriously disrupt your sleep and your partner’s rest and lead to more severe health problems.

Sleep apnea is a dangerous sleep disorder that affects more than 22 million Americans. The disease causes your breathing to repeatedly stop and start when you sleep. Sleep apnea patients stop breathing repeatedly during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times per night. Each time your breathing stops, you wake up wholly or partially. This means the brain —and the rest of the body—may not get enough oxygen.

The result? You’re not getting the restful sleep you need because of constant waking throughout the night. You may feel exhausted during the day and struggle to stay awake.

There are two types of sleep apnea:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): The more common type of apnea, it results from a blockage of the airway, usually due to soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapsing and closing. The most common symptoms of OSA include:
  • Loud or frequent snoring
  • Gasping or choking during sleep.
  • Pauses in breathing while sleeping.
  • Feeling tired even after sleeping a long time. 
  • Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat.
• Central Sleep Apnea (CSA): CSA does not involve a blocked airway, but an inability in the respiratory control center to signal muscles to breathe.

Sleep apnea can affect anyone, including those who are young and fit. It is more common in men, overweight people, those with a family history of sleep apnea, or individuals over the age of 40. People with high blood pressure, diabetes and depression often suffer from sleep apnea and vice versa.

Research suggests that there may be other medical conditions that coexist with obstructive sleep apnea (for example, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes). However, it’s not yet known whether these conditions coexist because of an underlying cause (such as obesity) or if sleep apnea causes these conditions to coincide.

Facts about the risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea:

• Men are two to three times more likely than women to have sleep apnea, although women become more susceptible after menopause.
• People over the age of 40 are at greater risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea, but children can also develop the disorder.
• Sleep apnea occurs more frequently in people who are overweight. As the body mass index (BMI) increases, so does the severity of sleep apnea. BMI is a measurement used to assess body fat based on height and weight.

Sleep apnea, left untreated, can lead to a variety of health problems, including:

• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Heart failure, irregular heartbeats, and heart attacks
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Worsening of ADHD
• Headaches

In addition, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities.

Several treatment options are available for sleep apnea. Depending on the cause, you may find that one or a combination of treatments works best.

Treatments include:

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). A CPAP machine uses air pressure to keep your breathing passages open. A mask worn over your nose or mouth is attached to the machine with a tube.

Dental devices. An oral appliance that fits like a sports mouthguard or an orthodontic retainer pushes the lower jaw forward slightly to help keep your breathing passage open while you sleep. 

Surgery. Surgery to remove excess tissue in the throat, enlarge the airway that has narrowed due to enlarged tonsils or adenoids, or both, may be needed in some cases of obstructive sleep apnea. Surgery is generally not recommended for people who snore only and don't have sleep apnea.

Lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes that can help alleviate symptoms include:

• Exercising regularly and losing weight if you are overweight.
• Avoiding alcohol, especially at night. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the back of your throat. When those muscles relax, your airway is more likely to collapse during sleep.
• Sleeping on your side instead of your back. 

We provide complete resources for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea right here in our office.  Most times it is possible to have a sleep test at home, an overnight stay in the sleep lab is no longer required.  Please ask to speak to Tiffany, our sleep coordinator, for more information.