People who have sleep apnea experience pauses in their breathing while asleep; in short, they're having brief bouts of suffocation. Left untreated, this can lead to a wide range of serious health problems. Here, our Surrey and Langley dentists explain why.
Physical Health
Sleep apnea is a relatively common sleep disorder that can contribute to a wide range of physical health problems including an increased risk for conditions such as: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, irregular heartbeat, stroke and heart attack.
Mental Health
Pauses in breathing caused by sleep apnea frequently wake the sufferer throughout the night. This can mean that those with sleep apnea don’t get the amount, or quality, of sleep required for good health. An increased risk of depression and anxiety is linked to insufficient sleep. Studies have shown that those who have sleep apnea are more likely to experience these mental health issues than people who do not suffer from the condition.
Quality of Life
Significant negative impacts on daily life can arise from the lack of sleep caused by sleep apnea. In fact it's common for sleep apnea patients to have difficulty concentrating on tasks, as well as feeling exhausted, short tempered and listless.
Sleep apnea can also affect patients’ relationships. Not only, are patient's personalities affected, but their sleep partners also tend to be getting inadequate amounts of sleep due to the snoring. This can result in greater stress and tension on the relationship.
Memory
Lack of oxygen to the brain that sleep apnea entails, combined with lack of sleep can cause some serious memory problems.
In fact, sleep apnea has been linked to a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Also, studies have shown that people with sleep disordered breathing (like sleep apnea) experience earlier onset of mild cognitive impairment compared to the general population. This means that the forgetfulness we associate with old age begins sooner in life for individuals with sleep apnea.
If you think you are suffering from sleep apnea, do yourself, and your family a favour and get yourself assessed! The inconvenience of sleep apnea testing and treatment is worth it for all the health issues you may be able to avoid.