Have you ever been tired and groggy despite a full night's sleep? If you or someone you know snores regularly, sleep apnea could be the culprit. Sleep apnea is when breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep, leading to a lack of oxygen in the body. This can cause snoring, gasping, and even choking while sleeping. Sleep apnea has been linked to a host of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
Learning that you have sleep apnea can be both a relief and frustration. Relief because you finally have answers to why you’re so tired during the day, wake up with headaches, and have a short fuse (among other symptoms!). Frustration because it’s just another thing you have to deal with. Sometimes it feels like the punches just keep coming.
One thing many people fear when they worry about sleep apnea is sleep apnea surgery. Rightly so, undergoing surgery for anything is a bit scary. However, sleep apnea surgery isn’t usually necessary because other, less invasive treatments work better.
Sleep apnea is 80% undiagnosed and untreated, but it’s familiar enough that many people are aware of it. You may even know someone receiving treatment, or maybe you are experiencing symptoms of sleep apnea and are wondering if you should get tested. Sometimes, we think of sleep apnea as simply not getting enough sleep. While this is true, it’s more complicated than that. Untreated sleep apnea leads to health consequences throughout your entire body. One such consequence is dementia. If you have sleep apnea, treating it can lower your dementia risk.
Do you wear a smartwatch to bed? If you do, you know that it tracks your sleep. It provides data on how long you slept, how long you spent in each stage of sleep, and how many times you woke up throughout the night. More sophisticated watches estimate blood oxygen saturation, snoring, sleeping heart rate, and restlessness. You’d think you could diagnose your own sleep disorder with all that information, but a doctor still needs to provide a diagnosis. Here’s why.
Your body performs many complicated processes to keep you alive and healthy throughout the day and night. Each system has a different purpose that has evolved over thousands of years to ensure the survival of our species. One such process is sleeping. The more we find out about it, the more we realize that it’s not just our brains that need sleep. It’s our entire body. And even when we think we’re sleeping fine, we may inadvertently be triggering a body response that prevents us from getting the restful sleep we need to be truly healthy. In a 2022 study, researchers found that sleeping with even a tiny amount of light can have health consequences.
With three different types of sleep apnea and multiple treatment options, you can feel overwhelmed and like your situation is hopeless. Not only that, but you’re suffering detrimental sleep apnea symptoms, making your personal, professional, and social life seem like a chore. Choosing the right treatment for sleep apnea shouldn’t be so hard.