San Francisco and Marin CA
Getting the right amount of sleep is about quality as well as quantity. Individuals between the ages of 17 and 64 need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night to receive enough rest to be their best, both physically and mentally. Just a single 24-hour period where a person gets less than seven hours of sleep can be detrimental to their overall wellness. This includes nights where you are in bed for seven or more hours but wake up several times. Today on the blog, your sleep apnea dentists in Marin explore how poor sleep can hinder you in all aspects of life.
What qualifies as quality sleep?
A night of quality sleep for an adult who is 64 or younger needs to meet the following criteria, according to information from the National Sleep Foundation:
- Falling asleep in 30 minutes or less
- Waking up only once, or not at all
- If you do wake up, you go back to sleep within 20 minutes
Obstructive sleep apnea has a major negative impact on sleep quality
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep. This makes breathing extremely difficult and can often completely stop your airflow. When you suffer a sleep apnea attack, your brain tells your body that your breathing has been halted or isn’t regulating properly. This brings you out of your sleep cycle and deprives you of the restorative properties that deep sleep provides for your body and mind. Someone with a severe, untreated case of sleep apnea may experience as many as hundreds of these episodes each night. Naturally, this has major consequences on their quality of sleep.
Know the signs of sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is affecting more and more people, with millions of new diagnoses every year. That doesn’t count the millions of other individuals who never have their sleep apnea properly diagnosed or treated. Awareness of the characteristics of sleep apnea can help protect you because you will know to seek treatment if you experience them. Loud snoring is the most obvious symptom of this disorder. Other frequent symptoms include appearing to choke or gasp while sleeping, restlessness during sleep and frequently waking up with headaches.
When you live with obstructive sleep apnea and it remains untreated, this condition produces symptoms that you don’t even realize are associated with your lack of quality sleep: daytime sleepiness, chronic fatigue, and chronic migraines, just to name a few. Living with sleep loss in San Francisco could impair your memory and cognitive abilities as well.
Treating sleep apnea in the Bay Area of California
While sleep apnea only can be diagnosed by a sleep specialist, sleep apnea dentists like the ones at Glen Park Dental possess specialized training in airway management and can treat identified cases of this sleep breathing disorder. We want to stop sleep apnea and its effects on your work life, social life, physical well-being and mental health. At Glen Park Dental, we have seen great success in treating sleep apnea through oral appliance therapy. Made from high-quality materials, these appliances are fabricated from digitally captured impressions of your mouth to ensure a unique and perfect fit. Our sleep apnea appliances use gentle pressure to guide your lower jaw forward to keep your airway open while you sleep. When worn overnight, this appliance should prevent the blockages that cause your sleep apnea.
To learn more about how we treat sleep apnea or any of the other services offered at Glen Park Dental, contact our office to schedule a consultation. Just call (415) 585-1500 or complete our online contact form.
