Sleep apnea: what is it and why is it dangerous

WHAT IS NIGHT APNEA?

Many do not even suspect that they are faced with such a problem, because when breathing stops for even more than one minute, a person can continue to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder in which a sleeping person stops breathing for periods longer than 10 seconds. Breathing becomes irregular, with repeated stops of five or more times during the hour of sleep (and in some up to 60 or even 100 times).

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type that affects both men and women. OSA develops when the upper airway narrows or closes during sleep. 

Sleep apnea symptoms include:

• Snoring, especially loud

• Breathing that stops for a short time and then resumes

• Difficulty in nasal breathing

• Breathing through the mouth

Daytime symptoms of OSA:

• morning headaches

• Breathing through the mouth

• Fatigue or daytime sleepiness (children and teens may not show signs of sleepiness, but may be overly active)

• Mood changes, irritability

• Problems with thinking, attention or memory

REASONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APNEA

A healthy lifestyle and weight control throughout life is not only youth and beauty, but also a reduction in the risks of sleep apnea. Several studies have found a correlation between a high body mass index and obstructive sleep apnea. People who gain as little as 10% weight are six times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea¹.

However, the most common cause is jaw misalignment and overbite. Family history is an important predisposition to sleep apnea: the general craniofacial structure of parents and children is usually the same, so the risks are often the same.

Over the years, due to the erasure and loss of teeth, the situation only gets worse. The body is a single system. Patients come to us in whom, due to the incorrect ratio of the jaws, the airways are narrowed and, as a result, breathing stops 30-40 times during an hour of sleep. A person practically does not sleep, his body is at the limit. Diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea involves an integrated approach.

Men are two to three times more likely to develop sleep apnea than women, but risk factors for heart attack/stroke appear to balance out when women enter the postmenopausal period.

However, in terms of psychological health, poor quality sleep is more harmful for women. The journal Sleep has repeatedly published years of research by the University of California Sleep Laboratory that women are more difficult to tolerate obstructive sleep apnea. Such patients have higher levels of symptoms of depression and anxiety.

APNEA TREATMENT

First of all, you need to pass the diagnosis. The general recommendation would be to stick to a healthy lifestyle and pay attention to weight loss and the use of simple carbohydrates.

Insulin resistance (in other words, prediabetes) is a big problem of our time. Due to insulin surges, the body loses its balance, which worsens hormonal metabolism even in children, including during sleep. Smoking cessation plays an important role: heavy smokers are almost three times more likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea than non-smokers.

There is a special device — CPAP, which provides a constant positive airway pressure. As a rule, it is used for severe forms of sleep apnea, especially in combination with obesity and cardiovascular diseases. In all other cases, a special mouth guard is used, which a person puts on at night. This mouthguard is made individually for each patient based on the diagnosis.

The mouth guard is made in such a way that when worn on the jaw, it helps to keep the airways completely open at night. As a result, more oxygen enters the body, and the risk of stopping breathing during sleep is minimized.

Thanks to the mouth guard, you wake up more rested and experience less stress during the day. But most importantly, you prolong your life by minimizing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11122588/