Falling asleep during the day? You might have Sleep Apnea
The most common undiagnosed sleeping disorder causing daytime tiredness is sleep apnea. There are three different types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA), and complex sleep apnea syndrome.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common and occurs when the throat muscles relax, causing your airway to close as you breath in. When you can’t get enough air in, your brain senses you can’t breathe and slightly wakes you. This allows your airway to reopen but prevents a good night’s sleep even though you may not notice waking up.
Central Sleep Apnea is a condition where the brain doesn’t send the correct signals to the muscles that control breathing. You can even wake up because of shortness of breath or have trouble staying asleep.
Complex Sleep Apnea is a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea. Complex sleep apnea affects about 5 – 10% of adults in the United States.
Sleep Apnea causes trouble around the clock
At night, sleep apnea can cause loud persistent snoring, frequent trips to the bathroom or even choking and gasping during a deep sleep. Daytime symptoms vary from early morning headaches, tiredness, falling asleep, poor concentration or irritability. The excessive carbon dioxide in the blood can cause trouble breathing throughout your day.
Untreated sleep apnea can cause serious health trouble such as high blood pressure or irregular heartbeat. If not diagnosed, these abnormalities could result in heart disease, type 2 diabetes, a heart attack or even a stroke.
The constant struggle to stay awake at work is tough, but driving while tired is dangerous. A recent study showed that there were over 800,000 sleep related accidents in one year! Being drowsy behind the wheel slows down your reaction time and impairs how quick you process information.
Sleep Apnea Solutions
Sleep apnea causes a lot of trouble but we can help! Dr. Marx has trained extensively on helping those who suffer from sleep apnea is is specially certified to treat the condition without the use of a noisy and annoying CPAP machine. If you have any of these symptoms, contact Dr. Robert Marx today for your free sleep consultation at (816) 287-2912 !