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How snoring can affect your health

24th August 2018

The sound of snoring is often dismissed as a common irritating bedtime nuisance that annoys your partner, but 70% of snorers unknowingly suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

What is Sleep Apnoea?

It is a sleep condition that causes the throat and tongue to relax, collapse and fall to the back of the throat. This then blocks the upper airway, airflow is greatly reduced and normal breathing is interrupted or even stops, which means the brain and rest of the body may not be getting enough oxygen.

Not only can Sleep Apnoea increase the risk of developing certain conditions, it can also have a negative impact on your quality of life. The condition robs you of restful sleep, leaving you feeling exhausted throughout the day and unmotivated at work.

How it affects your health and lifestyle

If left untreated, Sleep Apnoea can result in a growing number of health problems including, high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure and heart attacks, diabetes, worsening of ADHA and headaches. In addition, sufferers may also experience excessive daytime sleeping, waking not rested and un-refreshed in the morning, depression and mood changes, sexual dysfunction, poor judgement and feeling sluggish and lethargic.

Why does it happen?

Certain factors increase the chance of snoring and Sleep Apnoea:

  • Weight – those overweight have more soft issue around the neck, which increases the chance of snoring
  • Age – as we get older our throat muscles become weaker
  • Sex – men tend to suffer from Sleep Apnoea more, as they tend to put on upper body weight and have more soft tissue around the neck.
  • Lifestyle – smokers, people who have taken sleeping tablets and those who have had alcohol before sleeping.
  • Those with a family history of Sleep Apnoea
  • Nasal congestion– Sleep Apnoea occurs more often in people with nasal congestion, such as a deviated septum, where the tissue in the nose that divides the two nostrils is bent to one side, or nasal polyps, which may be a result of the airways being narrowed.

 

How we can help you

If you’re worried about snoring or think you may have Sleep Apnoea, book an appointment with our dentist Anton, who is a registered member of the British Society of Dental Sleep Medicine and has a special interest in Sleep Apnoea.

Anton also keeps up-to-date with the latest developments in the treatment of snoring and sleep apnoea.  Therefore, we are one of the leading practices in the UK able to offer cutting-edge treatments and appliances designed to alleviate the above symptoms.

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Please note: all new patient bookings will require a £60 deposit.

“… You are a genius and an artist (or should it be craftsman/person?) Andrew! Just a small note of thanks for your wizardry and expertise yesterday. It feels and looks amazingly better – and not even a twinge of pain afterwards…” – Patient