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Sleep Apnea And Loud Snoring
Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous disorder with fairly benign
symptoms such as loud snoring at night, and morning headaches or
daytime bouts of sleepiness. The cause? Intermittent periods throughout
sleep when you actually stop breathing.
Breathing cessation, or apnea, lasts from seconds
to nearly a minute. When breathing resumes, the brain senses lack
of oxygen and wakes you up. The snoring is loud, sometimes explosive.
In the morning, the build-up of carbon dioxide
in the blood causes headaches. And the lack of deep, relaxing sleep
can leave one drowsy and usually grouchy, during the day.
During sleep apnea, the upper air passages in
the mouth and throat are obstructed (no one is sure why). One form
of treatment that has proven successful is wearing an acrylic appliance
during sleep to keep air passages open. It's comfortable and easy
to use.
For more information regarding sleep apnea please
call our office.
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