Sleep Disorders

Do you snore?

Do you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow?

Do you wake up exhausted, no matter how long you sleep?

Those are just a few signs of a very serious sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea? For everyone, the muscles that hold the throat open relax during sleep. With Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA, the airway relaxes becoming partially or completely blocked causing an “apnea.” Apnea means a cessation of breathing or without breath. This lasts from 10 seconds up to a minute or more. Eventually, an increased effort to breath awakens the brain. This awakening reopens the breathing passage. Now that your throat is open again, the effort to breath decreases and you go back to sleep. This cycle of falling asleep, throat narrowing/closing, increased effort to breath, and arousal from sleep repeats itself throughout the night. This sleep apnea can disrupt your sleep hundreds of times per night. Night after night, your sleep is disrupted. You are now experiencing the kind of tiredness that affects the quality of your life, work, and health. Your partner may hear the common sounds of sleep apnea; snoring followed by a period of silence, and then, a loud snort or gasp as breathing is resumed.

Left untreated, OSA is a contributing risk factor for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and depression.

How do you treat OSA?

Positive Airway Pressure or PAP is the gold standard for treating sleep apnea. A small bedside device delivers pressurized air, splinting the airway reducing or eliminating snoring and sleep apnea, resulting in improved sleep, health, life, and increased energy.

Our sleep team specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of sleep apnea.

Call today if you or someone you love suspects sleep apnea. (219) 756-8000