Your Calgary Invisalign® Provider
Sleep Apnea
At Arbour Lake Dental Care, we provide sleep apnea treatment for our patients in Northwest (NW) Calgary.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea causes our bodies to go without the necessary oxygen we need to survive in a healthy state. Imagine holding your breath for anywhere from 11 seconds to 2 minutes, 5-20 times an hour (this would be impossible during waking hours).
This is what is happening to those that suffer from sleep apnea. This inability to take in the oxygen you require causes your blood gases to dip down to where they shouldn’t be. This causes you to feel poorly, become unhealthy, and causes many other health related concerns you may have to worsen.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
If you experience any of the following symptoms, you may have sleep apnea.
- Fatigue upon waking in the morning
- High blood pressure
- G.E.R.D. (acid reflux)
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Excess weight
- Teeth grinding or clenching
- Snoring
- Erectile dysfunction
- Irritability
- Mouth breathing
- Feeling foggy or confused
Did you know?
- An estimated 50% of the adult population suffers from sleep apnea.
- Otherwise, healthy men with sleep apnea between the ages of 40-70 years old are twice as likely to die than those without sleep apnea.
- Grinding your teeth at night is often the body’s effort of doing CPR as a result of sleep apnea.
- 30% of pregnant women suffer from sleep apnea.
- 80% of nighttime strokes are associated with sleep apnea. You may have thought it odd that strokes occur at night time while people are relaxed and asleep. The truth is that people suffering from sleep apnea are anything but relaxed while they sleep.
- 40% of the adult population has sleep apnea but less than 10% know they do.
- Many health conditions such as kidney disease, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, reflux, heart arrhythmias, and heart conditions are worsened with the presence of sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea & Excess Weight
Did you also know that people with sleep apnea are also often overweight? Because their bodies lack the necessary oxygen and sleep it requires, a hormone called Ghrelin is emitted into the body.
This hormone causes the body to think that it is experiencing hunger. When that happens, the person often ends up overeating. This tends to be a circular problem since the more excess weight you carry, the worse sleep apnea becomes.