Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

Sleep apnea is a common and potentially serious sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. If sleep apnea is left untreated, it can lead to severe complications and can interrupt your daily life significantly. Understanding the causes, symptoms, and treatment options is crucial for managing this condition and improving overall health.

Understanding How To Manage Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a common condition that causes disruptions in your breathing while you sleep. This can cause snoring and other issues. There are three main types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is when the muscles in the throat relax excessively and cause a blockage in the airway. Often, the blockage is your tongue, and this pauses your breathing.

Another form of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea (CSA). CSA occurs when the brain fails to send the proper signals to the muscles controlling breathing. The third form is complex sleep apnea syndrome, which is a combination of OSA and CSA.

Common symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Loud snoring
• Pauses in breathing
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Morning headaches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat
• Insomnia

You must be able to start treatment for sleep apnea as soon as possible. This lessens the risk of severe complications and can improve your overall health and functionality. You should start by making lifestyle changes. This means maintaining a healthy weight, sleeping on your side to avoid obstruction, and avoiding alcohol or sedatives.

In some cases, you may need treatment to moderate your sleep apnea. Often, a CPAP machine is used to deliver constant air pressure into your airways to keep them open. A mouth guard may also be used to reposition the lower jaw and tongue to keep your airways open.

Contact Our ENT Doctor Today

Make sure you’re not ignoring your sleep apnea. Contact your ENT doctor to learn more about dealing with sleep apnea.