Glen Burnie Sleep Specialist

You might think of sleep simply as the time when your body gets to relax and refresh itself for the new day. While this is technically true, there are a lot of important ways your body is at work throughout the night to keep you in optimal health. A lack of quality sleep is tied to bad moods, increase risk of illness, weight gain, lack of focus, and more.

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes an individual to stop breathing frequently throughout the night, often without even realizing it. If you suffer from sleep apnea, the quality of your sleep could be impacted. Even more seriously, the temporary oxygen deprivation could lead to serious health issues over time, including stroke, heart disease, organ failure, and more. Below are some of the common symptoms you could experience if you have sleep apnea. If any of these sound familiar, contact our dental team today to learn about the potentially life-saving treatment options we offer to patients suffering from sleep apnea.

Loud Snoring

If you experience loud snoring that is prominent throughout the night, it could be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea.

Waking with Shortness of Breath

Regularly waking up gasping for breath is a common side effect of sleep apnea.

Daytime Sleepiness

If you struggle to stay awake and alert throughout the day no matter how early you get to bed, sleep apnea could be disrupting your body’s sleep cycles.

Morning Dry Mouth

Waking up with dry mouth could be a sign that you’re struggling to get enough air at night without realizing it.

Insomnia

If you have difficulty falling or staying asleep, sleep apnea could be affecting the quality of your sleep.

While other conditions can contribute to these symptoms, they are all common occurrences for individuals with sleep apnea. If you find that you’re regularly experiencing any of these symptoms, it could be a sign of a serious problem. While treatment options for sleep apnea exist, their effectiveness is limited to how early you address the issue. Contact our dental team today to learn more about the causes of sleep apnea and to schedule a consultation with our doctor to see how we can help.

21061 Dentist

The correlation between quality of sleep and the onset of dementia has been the recent focus of several studies. One in three Americans do not get enough sleep according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you do not get enough sleep, your body doesn’t go through enough REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep. This is problematic because REM sleep is a restorative part of the sleep cycle.

How REM Sleep Relates to Dementia

People who get less REM sleep could be at a higher risk of developing dementia according to a recent study in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology. Because REM sleep is the part of the sleep cycle that regulates brain restoration, not getting a sufficient amount hinders the restoration. This can contribute to many health problems.

Sleep Apnea’s Impact

Sleep apnea may be one reason why some individuals fail to get enough restorative deep sleep. Researchers have found that beta-amyloid accumulates faster in subjects with sleep-disordered breathing than subjects without one. Beta-amyloid is a plaque found in the brains of Alzheimer patients that accumulates if a lack of REM sleep occurs. Because sleep apnea can cause you to have distorted breathing, it can interrupt REM sleep and allow the beta-amyloids to progress faster in the brain.

The protein that is responsible for Alzheimer’s, amyloid, is produced throughout the day. However, during sleep, your brain is able to complete a restorative process. This occurs during the REM stage and studies have shown that sleep apnea can speed up the process of amyloid buildup. Sleep apnea can prevent you from having the REM sleep needed for the brain to regulate the restoration process.

Do You Have Sleep Apnea?

Have you been told you snore loudly? Do you frequently wake up feeling like you are choking or struggling to breathe? These are potential indicators of sleep apnea. Additionally, frequent headaches after you wake up and a chronic feeling of tiredness may also point to sleep apnea. While not everyone with these symptoms has sleep apnea, it is important to speak to your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms.

Our brains need sleep. Deep REM sleep allows the brain to decrease levels of the proteins responsible for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Unfortunately, sleep apnea may be preventing you from achieving a night of restful sleep. Our team offers sleep apnea consultations.

To schedule your consultation, please contact our team.

7711 Quarterfield Rd., Suite C-1
Glen Burnie, MD 21061
(410) 760-4445