Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
Benefits of Treatment for Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea affects all facets of your life. You’ll witness its impact at work and in your relationships, and your risk for a wide range of health issues will also increase.
According to estimates, more than 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders, including sleep apnea.
At Healthy Sleep Midwest, we are committed to delivering a lasting solution to sleep apnea. Book an appointment today for a detailed assessment.
Why You Need Quality Sleep
The National Sleep Foundation recommends eight to nine hours of sleep for most adults because regularly completing the four sleep cycles is essential to our overall well-being. Your body undergoes various physiological processes during the four sleep cycles.
While the first three stages slow brain activity, breathing, and heartbeat, the fourth stage (deep sleep) triggers a raft of processes vital to healthy bodily function. These processes include the following:
- Metabolism of brain glucose
- Tissue repair and generation
- Improved blood flow to the muscles
- Cellular regeneration
People with sleep apnea rarely reach the deep sleep stage, thus missing out on the attendant benefits. Therefore, it’s imperative to seek treatment quickly.
How Sleep Apnea Treatment Can Help You
Sleep apnea treatment can help you in the following ways:
Improved Heart Health
Sleep apnea lowers oxygen in the blood. In response, you’ll wake up instinctively to reestablish airflow. In the process, your body releases adrenaline. Elevated rates of adrenaline can cause irregular heartbeats, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Therefore, sleep apnea treatment will help lower the effects of impaired heart function.
Improved Daytime Mental Alertness
Sleep apnea triggers daytime fatigue because interrupted sleep makes it harder for your body to complete its restorative cycle and cellular regeneration.
The result is a near-constant feeling of tiredness and poor productivity. However, many patients experience immediate improvement in mental alertness after a few weeks of sleep apnea treatment.
Reduced daytime sleepiness makes you more productive at work and also reduces the risk of traffic accidents.
Reduced Risk of Diabetes
Sleep apnea may cause or worsen type 2 diabetes because oxygen deprivation affects glucose metabolism by increasing inflammation and glucose resistance. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) also reduces glucose sensitivity and effectiveness. Sleep apnea treatment helps reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Where the ailment already exists, it can improve management.
Weight Loss Improvement
Inadequate sleep leaves you feeling too tired to exercise. It may also disrupt your emotions and increase cravings for sugary foods and heavier meals.
We can trace some of these to the reduction in leptin, the hormone responsible for triggering the feeling of satisfaction during meals. Treating the sleep disorder will balance out the hormones for hunger and satiation, and you’ll have more energy for exercise.
Stronger Immune System
Your body releases T cells during sleep to fight off illnesses. With sleep apnea, your body will lose some of that ability, increasing susceptibility to viruses and colds. Therefore, treating sleep apnea makes your immune system a lot stronger.
Reduced Strain on Your Relationship
Sleep apnea indirectly affects your partner as the noise from snoring due to airway obstruction can keep them awake. Treating the condition reduces the chances of straining to the breaking point.
What are the Options for Fixing Sleep Apnea?
The options for fixing sleep apnea include:
- Oral appliance therapy
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy
- Surgery
Your consultations with healthcare professionals will determine the best treatment for apnea in your case. Health professionals may also recommend lifestyle changes such as weight loss.
What’s the Best Position for a Sleep Apnea Patient?
The best sleeping position for a sleep apnea patient is lying on the side. However, lying on your back increases the likelihood of soft tissues blocking the airway.