Do you know, every year virtually 860, 000 adults in Canada are diagnosed with sleep apnea. Not only does this disorder affect your quality of sleep, but it also impacts your overall health and wellbeing. In addition to these diagnosed cases of sleep apnea, over one-quarter of these patients struggle with symptoms. So how can you determine if you have sleep apnea? Well, we encourage you to continue reading to learn the answer.

Disclaimer: You cannot self-diagnose, if you believe you may have this condition and your symptoms align with the information in this article, speak with your dentist in Winnipeg.

1. You Cannot Breathe Properly During Your Sleep

The characterization of sleep apnea, is several pauses during your sleep, each which last for ten seconds or more. These pauses in your sleep, generally last around ten to thirty seconds. However, patients with severe sleep apnea can experience pauses in their breathing every couple of minutes. These pauses may be silent or sound like choking or gasping as the person struggles to inhale.

2. You Wake Up with Headaches

Irregular breathing impacts how much oxygen you can inhale while you are resting. As a result, your brain attempts to conserve oxygen levels, which dilates the arteries to increase the flow of blood. This dilation also increases pressure in your skull and when combined with sleep disruptions, patients generally experience headaches in the morning. Typically, these headaches dissipate during the first few hours during the day, because you will be able to resume with your normal breathing and oxygen consumption.

3. You Have Daytime Fatigue

For many patients with sleep apnea, they have reported feeling tired and sleepy through the day, even if they have slept for eight hours or more. Why? Well, sleep apnea is all about disruptions, and that means sufferers cannot achieve that deep sleep that is so important.

4. You Wake Up with Dry Mouth

Sleep apnea causes you to breathe irregularly, which means the upper way is compromised. If you have sleep apnea, there is a high possibility that you find breathing through your nose difficult. As a result of this struggle, many patients breathe through their mouth while they are sleeping. When you breathe through your mouth, it usually feels dry, because the saliva is being dried out. Your saliva is vital for your oral health; one reason is that it coats your mouth. When you wake up with a dry mouth it can lead to other unwanted symptoms like bad breath, dehydration and sore throat.

5. You Are Irritable

Have you ever felt moody after having a poor sleep? Well, since sleep apnea impairs your sleep it can make you feel moody and irritable. Your brain will lack access to adequate GABA– this chemical is responsible for regulating your emotions and keeping you calm. If you have low levels of GABA, you will be snappier, become easily triggered and unhappy. You do not have to feel this way, be sure to schedule an appointment at a dental clinic near you.

6. You Snore

Once again, just because you snore, does not confirm that you have sleep apnea. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, however, this noisy nighttime occurrence is a common symptom of sleep apnea. Patients with sleep apnea will snore because their airways will either be partially or fully obstructed. When air is unable to freely flow through your airway, it results in the distinctive snoring sound that your sleeping partner or other family members probably despise.

7. You Have a Difficult Time Concentrating

Just like sleep apnea disturbs your sleep, it can also disturb your concentration throughout the day, since sufferers do not get adequate sleep during the night. We understand that exhaustion affects your concentration, however, according to research, sleep apnea can change your brain’s chemistry, making concentration exceedingly difficult.

Additionally, patients with sleep apnea contain low levels of Gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), this is a chemical messenger that calms patients and high levels of glutamate, which encourages the normal functioning of the brain. This means those with sleep apnea operate at an intensified frazzled state–impairing concentration.

8. You Wake Up Frequently Throughout the Night

Abnormal breathing, snoring and other sleep disturbances, can interfere with your sleep. If you find yourself waking up throughout the night, you may have sleep apnea. This is especially the case if you cannot determine what the reason for waking up is. For example, if do not need to use the washroom, you are not in pain and you are not hungry this could be a warning sign.

If you have experienced one or more of the following symptoms, be sure to address the issue during an appointment at your dental clinic in Winnipeg.