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Snoring & Sleep Apnea
Snoring & Sleep Apnea
T. (503) 729-6662
Dr. Tom Walker
Dr. Tom Walker
Oregon Dental Sleep Medicine Associates
T. (503) 729-6662
What do these present day “buzz-words” really mean?
Historically snoring has been a social problem with the bed partner being the victim and the snorer the object of many jokes. It was often thought to be a normal part of aging … “doesn’t everyone snore when they get older?”
Today Snoring is known to be a possible sign of a serious medical problem, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). These two terms describe parts of the continuum of sleep-disordered breathing. This spectrum ranges from slight vibration of the oral tissues at its mildest, to death from asphyxiation at its severe extreme. Between lies snoring and periods of complete closure of the airway called “apnea”.
When you fall asleep the muscles and tissues of the airway relax, the airway becomes smaller. The flow of air causes the relaxed tissues of the mouth and throat to vibrate producing a “snoring” sound. The more the tissues relax the narrower the airway becomes which tends to speed up the flowing air which makes the relaxed tissues vibrate at various pitches. Snoring, in and of itself, is not harmful to you. The sound however can be very loud and very disturbing to your bed partner causing disruptive sleep. So disruptive in fact studies have shown similar symptoms to a person with OSA.
These same tissues, when relaxed enough, can actually close the airway (OSA) and cause periods of silence (the relaxation of the tongue can cause it to fall back and touch the back of the throat). Eventually the body realizes it is suffocating due to this airway closure and arouses the sleeper (does not awaken) to a “less-deep level of sleep” thus causing the body to move in an attempt to re-start or improve breathing. In the sleep apnea patient, this process may be repeated 40 to 60 times per hour resulting in severe disruptions to normal sleep.
Understanding Sleep Disordered Breathing
What does this mean to my health?
If you break your arm or get burned, cause and effect are instantly recognized. In contrast, when your body is continuously deprived of oxygen in small increments, due to OSA, it is like a 2 mile walk where each step you take is 1/8th inch shorter than the previous one. Step-by-step it’s undetectable, but the journey keeps getting longer … harder … until you are standing still. You can never get into a deep sleep, so your body never gets the rejuvenating effect of deep sleep. Your body’s ability to compensate is eventually overcome and negative impacts are discernable. Overwhelming daytime sleepiness contributes to the risk of accident and injury from decreased attention span, judgment and reflex. The risk of auto accidents goes up 7 times compared to a normal sleeper. Work productivity and safety suffer. The long term effects of disturbed breathing increases the risk of stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart attack, irregular pulse and other co-morbidities.
In the broadest sense this scenario describes how OSA can accelerate the aging process and progressively slow down and even paralyze your life!
As you can see there may be a fine line between “Do I only Snore” and “Sleep Apnea”. It is important to know what side of the line you are on. We can help you figure that out.
Snoring &
Sleep Apnea
SNORING AND SLEEP APNEA
(OSA – Obstructive Sleep Apnea):
