Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder where your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during the night. These pauses can last from seconds to over a minute and may occur dozens of times per hour. The condition prevents you from reaching deep, restorative sleep stages, leaving you exhausted despite spending adequate time in bed.

Yes, untreated sleep apnea significantly increases your risk of life-threatening conditions including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. The repeated drops in oxygen levels strain your cardiovascular system, and severe cases can lead to sudden cardiac death during sleep. However, with proper diagnosis and treatment, these risks are greatly reduced, and many patients add years to their lives.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs because throat muscles and tissues physically block your airway during sleep, often due to excess weight, large neck circumference, or structural factors like a narrow airway. Central sleep apnea results because your brain fails to send proper breathing signals to your respiratory muscles. Risk factors include being overweight, having a family history of sleep apnea, using sedatives or alcohol before bed, smoking, and being over 40 years old.

Sleep apnea is typically a chronic condition that requires ongoing management rather than a one-time cure. However, treatment with oral appliances or CPAP machines effectively controls symptoms and eliminates health risks for most patients. Some people experience improvement through significant weight loss, positional therapy, or surgical intervention, but many require continued treatment to maintain normal breathing during sleep.

Common signs include loud or chronic snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, waking frequently to urinate, morning headaches, and excessive daytime sleepiness despite adequate time in bed. You might also experience difficulty concentrating, mood changes, or dry mouth upon waking. A simple screening questionnaire at our office can determine if you need a formal sleep study for diagnosis if you notice these symptoms.

There are several ways to assess the underlying cause of loud snoring and other symptoms. In fact, when diagnosing sleep apnea, a thorough review of your symptoms can be very telling. Beyond that, it is necessary to undergo a formal sleep study to accurately diagnose your condition.

Your home sleep study should take just one night. You do not have to alter anything about your normal daily and nightly routine to complete your test. In fact, we prefer that you don’t. This way, we are given insight into how your sleep apnea presents in your unaltered environment. Before you go to sleep, you will simply apply the monitors that are included in your test kit. These may include a breathing sensor that sits at the opening of your nostrils and is held in place by a strap around your ears. You may also wear a pulse oximeter on your finger or a special belt that measures how much effort goes into your breathing.

If a home sleep study is recommended, Dr. Rawdin will explain it in detail so you know exactly how to apply the monitors correctly.

Living with untreated sleep apnea does much more than leave you sleep-deprived and sleepy during the day. This condition accumulates more risks the longer it continues. With sleep apnea, you are more likely to experience memory difficulties and mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

You may struggle with weight due to the disruption to hunger and satiation hormones that are produced when you sleep. As a result of grogginess, you may be more accident prone. Your relationships or job may suffer. Physically, in addition to being more at risk for automobile and other accidents, your health will also be impacted by sleep apnea.

Studies indicate that, regardless of weight, people with sleep apnea have higher instances of diabetes and hypertension.