What, Exactly, is Sleep Apnea?

If you snore and stop breathing sometimes up to hundreds of times a night, you may suffer from a very common, though serious medical condition known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). The word "apnea"is Greek and literally means "without breath."In addition to OSA, there is also Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), in which the airway is not blocked, but the brain actually fails to signal your muscles to breathe. The third type of sleep apnea is mixed sleep apnea, which, as its name implies, is a combination of OSA and CSA.

Regardless of which type you have the severity of the apnea, you must have this condition treated as it can lead to a whole host of medical problems including these sleep apnea signs and symptoms:

• Memory problems
• Fatigue
• Sore throat
• Gastric reflux
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Weight gain

Sleep apnea also affects your partner. While sleeping next to you, your partner may be awakened by your gasping for air. This can be frightening. Some sleep apneics stop breathing for several seconds and up to hundreds of times per night. Driving after a night of interrupted sleep is dangerous; operating machinery is also very dangerous. If you think you may suffer from OSA, CSA or a combination, you should see a dentist who specializes in treating this disorder immediately.

Gurnee, Illinois sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Ira Shapira, has helped countless people from all over the country who have suffered with this condition for years, if not decades. Dr. Shapira created the IHATECPAP! website and forum for dentists and sufferers to share their stories and treatment successes. CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) has been the gold standard of sleep apnea treatment, but nowadays there are so many more comfortable, convenient and effective methods of treating this dangerous condition. Come see what Dr. Shapira has to offer. Effective treatment of sleep apnea can change your life forever.

To learn more about sleep apnea and its treatment, please contact Dr. Ira Shapira in Gurnee, Illinois today. Why suffer another night of interrupted sleep that may make you very sick and disturb your partner's sleep? You need not suffer any longer.

New Study Shows Men Are Twice As Likely To Die Early If They Suffer From Sleep Apnea

For the past eight years, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have studied the lives and sleep patterns of men and women between the ages of 40 and 70 years old. The study showed that about one-third of the people studied suffered from some form of sleep apnea. 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women in the study suffered from severe sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the throat become over-relaxed during sleep, closing the passageway and preventing the lungs from receiving the oxygen they need. When this happens, the brain wakes from sleep temporarily to open the passageway and give the body the air it needs.

For people with severe sleep apnea, or Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the brain can wake the body more than 30 times in just an hour. Obstructive Sleep Apnea prevents the brain from staying in deep, REM sleep, which allows it to rejuvenate and rest. The dangers of sleep apnea include high blood pressure, depression, and heart attack.

The results of the sleep research concluded that men aged 40 to 70-years-old who suffer from severe sleep apnea are twice as likely to die early than men who do not suffer from a sleep disorder.

To make sure you are not at risk of suffering an early death, or putting your body at risk for serious health side effects, please contact Gurnee, Illinois sleep dentist, Dr. Ira Shapira to schedule a sleep evaluation today.

Early Sleep Apnea Detection Could Help Your Child Academically

In general, the people who are at most at risk for sleep apnea are older individuals and people who are severely overweight. Sleep apnea can prevent the body and brain from getting the deep, restful sleep required by everyone to perform at their peak. For adolescents suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), academic studies can be seriously affected.

When someone is suffering the OSA, the soft tissues in the throat can temporarily close during sleep. The brain must then wake the body and open the throat so oxygen can reach the lungs. This process can occur hundreds of times in a single night, resulting in many different physical and mental side effects:

• Daytime Exhaustion
• Depression
• High Blood Pressure
• Memory Loss
• Weight Gain
• Headaches

If your child is dealing with some or all of these sleep apnea symptoms while attempting to complete schoolwork, their grades could suffer. By contacting an experienced sleep dentist like Dr. Ira Shaira in Gurnee, Illinois, you can find out if your son or daughter is suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects millions of people all over the world, so there is a chance that your child is suffering from the dangerous sleep disorder. Please contact Dr. Ira Shapira, Gurnee, Illinois sleep dentist today to schedule a sleep evaluation.

Changing Your Diet May Not Help Your Snoring

We've all heard about different foods and drinks affecting the way we sleep at night and the amount you snore or not. Unfortunately, if you are suffering from sleep apnea, simply changing the foods you eat and liquids you drink might not prevent you from snoring.

Snoring at night can seriously affect the way you and even your sleeping partner sleep at night. Depending on how severe your snoring is it may be a symptom of sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder that can impact many other aspects of your life. Sleep dentists like Dr. Ira Shapira in Gurnee, Illinois, help people diagnose their sleep apnea when there is something more serious involved.

For some people, snoring is simply a disturbance that could be caused by many different factors. Drinking alcohol, eating dairy products, or eating a large meal before going to sleep might make this type of snoring worse.

Millions of other people who snore are actually suffering from a much more dangerous condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). When someone has OSA, the passageways in their throat temporarily close and prevent oxygen from reaching the lungs. To correct this problem, the brain wakes you from sleep so the body can open the passageway.

With the body and brain constantly waking up throughout the night, the body can't get the deep, restful sleep it needs to perform correctly and it can suffer from a few different dangers of sleep apnea.

If you or your sleeping partner is suffering from snoring a night and changing diet habits haven't helped, sleep apnea might be causing the sleep problems. To find out if you or one of your loved ones is suffering from sleep apnea, please contact Dr. Ira Shapira in Gurnee, Illinois to schedule a professional sleep analysis.