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Sleep disorders like sleep apnea and snoring are now rated as the leading cause of car crashes. This is more than drunk driving. Many states have laws against drowsy driving similar to drunk driving laws. Data newly available suggests that a drowsy driver has a 700% increase in chances of experiencing a car crash compared to an alert driver. Sleep apnea treatment can lessen incidence of drowsy driving. Sometimes CPAP and BiPAP is necessary, but many patients sleep better with simple dental appliances or sleep hygiene.
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Neurologists treating sleep disorders and sleep apnea have determined that most people need 7 -8 hours sleep a night. Studies of patients with sleep disorders have proven that taking a power nap around 1:00 – 2:00 in the afternoon can minimize the effects of sleep deficits caused by sleep apnea. The recommended nap is only 20-40 minutes long. Longer than that can cause excessive drowsiness.
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Before you try sleep apnea treatment, try these low tech solutions. You don’t need a CPAP or a high $$$$ sleep study to try and correct your own sleep disorder with these simple solutions.
• Stay on schedule – Train you body to go to sleep at the same time every night
• Clean your bedroom – A cluttered room is a sign of a cluttered mind, the enemy of sleep
• Get some exercise – An aerobic workout is proven to help you sleep
• Make a list – After you write it down you won’t have to stay awake remembering it.
• Stop worrying about it – Worrying about the sleep your not getting or how you’ll feel in the morning will only keep you awake.
• Get up – After you toss and turn for 20 minutes or so, get up and do a quiet activity, not TV or Internet though. The lights will inhibit melatonin and keep you awake even more.
• Ignore the clock – Checking the clock will make you more anxious about the sleep you’re not getting. The alarm will go off soon enough. Practice mediation or deep breathing instead.
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While 1 in 22 Americans are known to have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the undiagnosed population is believed to be twice that number.
OSA is an epidemic linked to these risk factors:
- Obesity
- Aging
- Alcohol consumption
- Smoking
- High Blood Pressure
- Menopause – with estrogen depletion
Consequences of OSA include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
The most common remedy for OSA is CPAP. Many patients are unable to wear a CPAP machine. Dental appliances can be extremely effective in cases of mild to moderate OSA.
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Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than twelve million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Yet still because of the lack of awareness by the public and health care professionals, the vast majority remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.
Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes.
Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist. These include:
- Sleep Hygiene
- CPAP
- Dental appliances
- Nasal canulas
About Dental Appliances
Dental appliances are becoming more frequently used. They have advantages, especially in patients who cannot tolerate CPAP and nasal canulas. Some cases of sleep apnea can be so severe as to require both.
Other advantages are:
- No sleep study is required; often sleep apnea can be diagnosed from medical history only
- Appliances are easily constructed
- Break in period is short
- Wide range of appliances available
- Covered by insurance in conjunction with sleep study
Call us at the office to find out more!
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