Do you find yourself exhausted from a night of sleep, even though you got the recommended 8-hours of sleep? Have you changed your mattress and sleeping patterns and nothing seems to help? You may be suffering from sleep apnea. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, you need to know how to take care of yourself.
What Does Sleep Apnea Do to My Body?
Other than not getting a good night’s sleep, sleep apnea has many dangerous effects on your body that you should know about.
- Heart – Your heart could be in more danger than you realize when you are concerned about how sleep apnea affects you. You could experience high blood pressure, strokes, irregular heart beat (or arrhythmia), and in the worst cases, heart failure.
- Liver – When you have untreated sleep apnea, you could be diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and elevated enzyme levels. Your liver helps remove unwanted or dangerous molecules in your body. If it is malfunctioning, you could be putting yourself in serious danger.
- Lungs – As you are already struggling breathing, it should come as no surprise that your lungs could be affected by sleep apnea. You could have trouble breathing, lowered oxygen levels, and even adult asthma.
- Stomach – Your stomach can even be affected by sleep apnea, with acid reflux and heartburn as very real concerns. Plus, it’s not literally a problem with your stomach, but sleep apnea can affect your metabolism, making your body more likely to store fat and less likely to burn it.
- Libido -While not specifically an organ, your sex organs can be affected by sleep apnea. You may experience a loss of interest and men may even experience erectile dysfunction. While women don’t technically report sexual dysfunction related to sleep apnea, if their sleep apnea is treated, their reported sexual satisfaction increases.
- Pancreas – Sleep apnea can cause diabetes, which starts in the pancreas. Sleep apnea can increase the risks that you may develop diabetes as well.
- Brain – You can experience memory loss, foggy or unclear thinking, and even depression as a result of the lack of sleep that you may experience with sleep apnea.
How Can I Treat Sleep Apnea?
Do you think you have sleep apnea? Does your partner or spouse think so? Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that can be easily diagnosed. First, you should visit sleep dentist Dr. Safarian, who can recommend an excellent sleep physician who can perform a sleep test to determine if you have sleep apnea. From there, Dr. Safarian can recommend the best treatment plan for your body. Most doctors will recommend CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), but many people have difficulty dealing with this treatment. Dr. Safarian offers an oral appliance that is more comfortable and easier to adapt to. Compliance rates are much higher for oral appliances than for CPAP.
Contact a San Diego Sleep Apnea Dentist Today!
Call us at (858) 755-8993 for our San Diego office and we’ll get you the treatment you need right away.