Do I Suffer from Sleep Apnea?
Do you wake up feeling tired even after spending a full night in bed? Perhaps your partner has noticed loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in your breathing. You might also experience morning headaches, difficulty concentrating, or daytime fatigue that makes everyday activities harder. These symptoms can have several causes, but they may be signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep-related breathing disorder that repeatedly interrupts breathing during sleep.
At the Center for Dental Sleep Health in Nashua, NH, Dr. Tara Levesque-Vogel and Dr. Keith Levesque help patients understand their sleep-related concerns and explore appropriate treatment options. We know that symptoms can be easy to dismiss, especially when you have become accustomed to feeling tired or when your breathing disturbances happen while you’re asleep.
If you suspect sleep apnea, the next step is to seek an appropriate medical evaluation. Understanding what’s happening during sleep can help you make informed decisions about your health and treatment. Concerned about your symptoms? Call the Center for Dental Sleep Health at (603) 886-4300 to discuss your next steps.
What Are the Common Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea symptoms aren’t always obvious. Some people recognize a problem because they feel exhausted during the day, while others first learn about their symptoms from a partner who notices unusual breathing at night.
Common warning signs include:
- Loud, Persistent Snoring: Frequent, disruptive snoring can be associated with obstructive sleep apnea, although not everyone who snores has the condition.
- Pauses in Breathing During Sleep: A partner may notice that you stop breathing briefly before gasping, snorting, or resuming normal breathing.
- Waking up Choking or Gasping: Repeated episodes of waking while struggling to breathe warrant medical attention.
- Daytime Sleepiness: You may feel tired throughout the day, struggle to stay alert, or find yourself fighting sleep during quiet activities.
- Morning Headaches: Some people with sleep apnea wake with headaches, although these can have other causes.
- Difficulty Concentrating: Interrupted sleep may affect attention, memory, and your ability to think clearly.
- Mood Changes: Poor sleep can contribute to irritability, frustration, and changes in mood.
- Dry Mouth or Sore Throat: Waking with a dry mouth or throat may accompany snoring or mouth breathing.
You don’t need to experience every symptom to have sleep apnea. Some people have few noticeable symptoms, while others experience several. If you’re excessively sleepy while driving, avoid driving and seek medical advice. Severe daytime sleepiness can create an immediate safety risk.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops or becomes restricted during sleep. These interruptions can fragment sleep and, depending on the type and severity of the disorder, reduce blood oxygen levels.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep. Relaxation of the muscles and soft tissues around the airway contributes to this obstruction. Factors such as jaw structure, the size and position of the tongue, enlarged tonsils, excess tissue around the neck, and body weight may influence the likelihood of airway obstruction.
- Central Sleep Apnea: Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain temporarily fails to send the appropriate signals to the muscles responsible for breathing. It differs from obstructive sleep apnea and may be associated with certain medical conditions or medications.
- Mixed or Complex Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders: Some patients experience features of both obstructive and central sleep apnea. The appropriate diagnosis matters because treatment depends on the type of breathing disorder involved.
Dental oral appliance therapy is primarily used to treat obstructive sleep apnea in appropriately selected patients. It’s not a universal treatment for every type of sleep apnea.
How Can Sleep Apnea Affect Your Health?
Sleep apnea affects more than how rested you feel in the morning. Repeated breathing interruptions and disrupted sleep can place stress on the body over time.
Not everyone with sleep apnea develops the same complications, but understanding the potential health effects can help explain why proper evaluation and treatment matter.
Heart and Cardiovascular Health
Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure and an increased risk of several cardiovascular problems. Repeated changes in breathing and oxygen levels can activate the body’s stress responses and affect cardiovascular function.
Sleep apnea is associated with conditions including:
- High blood pressure
- Certain abnormal heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation
- Cardiovascular disease
- Increased risk of stroke and other cardiovascular complications
The relationship between sleep apnea and cardiovascular health is complex. Treating sleep apnea is important, but treatment should not be presented as a guarantee that cardiovascular disease will be prevented or reversed.
Blood Sugar and Metabolic Health
Sleep disruption can affect the body’s metabolic processes. Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, although these conditions can influence one another and share other risk factors.
Patients managing diabetes or other metabolic conditions may benefit from discussing sleep quality and possible sleep apnea with their healthcare providers.
Memory, Concentration, and Mood
When sleep is repeatedly interrupted, you may not get the consistent, restorative rest your body needs. Some people experience difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, irritability, or reduced daytime functioning.
Sleep apnea is also associated with depression and other mood concerns. However, these symptoms can have multiple causes, so a proper evaluation is important rather than assuming sleep apnea is responsible for every change in mood or memory.
Daytime Energy and Quality of Life
Persistent tiredness can affect work, family responsibilities, relationships, and everyday activities. You may struggle to stay alert during meetings, feel less motivated to exercise, or find it difficult to concentrate on tasks you once handled easily.
If your partner’s sleep is repeatedly disturbed by snoring or breathing interruptions, the effects can extend to both people in the household.
Who Is at Risk for Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea can affect adults of different ages and body types. Certain characteristics and health conditions can increase the likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea, although no single risk factor determines whether someone has the condition.
Common risk factors include:
- Anatomical Characteristics: A recessed lower jaw, enlarged tonsils, a larger tongue, or a narrower upper airway may contribute to obstruction.
- Excess Body Weight: Additional tissue around the neck and upper airway can increase the risk of obstruction.
- Age: The likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea generally increases with age.
- Family History: Genetics and inherited anatomical characteristics may contribute to risk.
- Sex and Hormonal Changes: Sleep apnea is more common in men, while risk in women can increase after menopause.
- Alcohol and Certain Medications: Alcohol and some sedating medications can affect breathing during sleep.
- Nasal Congestion: Persistent nasal obstruction may contribute to sleep-related breathing difficulties, although it doesn’t necessarily indicate sleep apnea.
- Certain Medical Conditions: Some endocrine, cardiovascular, and neurological conditions are associated with sleep-related breathing disorders.
You can have sleep apnea without fitting the most familiar risk profile. If you experience warning signs, don’t dismiss them solely because of your age, body size, or general fitness.
How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
Symptoms and risk factors can suggest that sleep apnea may be present, but they cannot confirm a diagnosis on their own.
A healthcare professional will assess your symptoms, medical history, and other relevant factors to determine whether sleep testing is appropriate.
- Home Sleep Apnea Testing: For eligible adults with suspected obstructive sleep apnea, a home sleep apnea test may be an option. The test uses a portable monitoring device to collect information about breathing and related signals while you sleep at home. Home testing isn’t appropriate for every patient, and a negative or inconclusive result may require additional evaluation.
- In-Lab Sleep Study: An in-lab sleep study, also called polysomnography, is conducted in a sleep center and can measure a broader range of physiological signals during sleep. A sleep physician may recommend this approach based on your symptoms, medical history, or the possibility of another sleep disorder. The results help determine whether sleep apnea is present, identify its severity, and guide treatment decisions.
What Happens After a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis?
Treatment depends on the type and severity of sleep apnea, your health, and your individual circumstances. Your sleep physician can explain which approaches are appropriate for your diagnosis.
CPAP Therapy
Positive airway pressure therapy, commonly called CPAP, delivers pressurized air through a mask to help keep the airway open during sleep. It’s a common and effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Some patients find it difficult to tolerate their equipment. Mask discomfort, air leaks, dryness, and difficulties with the nightly routine can make consistent use challenging.
If you’re having trouble with CPAP, speak with your medical provider before stopping treatment. Adjustments or alternative approaches may help.
Oral Appliance Therapy
A custom oral appliance is a removable device worn during sleep. Many appliances work by positioning the lower jaw forward to help maintain an open airway. For appropriately selected patients, oral appliance therapy can be an alternative to CPAP, particularly for mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and for some patients who cannot tolerate CPAP.
At the Center for Dental Sleep Health, Dr. Tara Levesque-Vogel and Dr. Keith Levesque evaluate patients for oral appliance therapy and provide devices suited to their clinical needs. The Center offers the Herbst appliance and the ProSomnus EVO® Guided Sleep and Snore Device. The appropriate device depends on your diagnosis, oral health, and individual treatment requirements.
Treatment requires appropriate fitting and follow-up. Your medical provider may recommend repeat sleep testing to assess whether the appliance is adequately controlling your sleep apnea.
Learn more about our sleep apnea treatment options or explore alternatives to CPAP.
Other Treatment Approaches
Depending on your diagnosis, your healthcare provider may also discuss positional therapy, lifestyle changes, or evaluation for other medical or surgical treatments.
These approaches aren’t interchangeable, and lifestyle changes alone may not adequately treat diagnosed sleep apnea. Your treatment plan should reflect your clinical needs and include appropriate monitoring.
A Patient-Centered Approach to Sleep Health
At the Center for Dental Sleep Health, we understand that sleep concerns can be frustrating, especially when you’re unsure whether your symptoms are serious or where to begin.
Dr. Tara Levesque-Vogel values the opportunity to help patients improve their health and quality of life, including the connection between sleep and healthy aging. Dr. Keith Levesque also emphasizes helping patients who have struggled with treatment understand that other options may be available.
Their approach begins with listening to your concerns, understanding your diagnosis, and explaining the role of oral appliance therapy when it is appropriate. The Center builds on Dr. Stephen Ura’s experience in dental sleep medicine, which continues to contribute to its approach to care. The team works with patients and their medical providers to support appropriate treatment and follow-up.
If you have questions about symptoms or have already been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, our team can help you understand the next steps for evaluating oral appliance therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you have sleep apnea without snoring?
Yes. Although loud snoring is a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, not everyone with the condition snores noticeably. Other signs, such as witnessed breathing pauses, daytime sleepiness, or morning headaches, may also warrant evaluation.
Can sleep apnea symptoms occur even if I get eight hours of sleep?
Yes. The number of hours spent in bed doesn’t necessarily reflect sleep quality. Repeated breathing interruptions can fragment sleep, leaving you tired even after what seems like a full night of rest. Persistent fatigue can also have other causes and should be evaluated.
Should I be evaluated if my partner notices pauses in my breathing?
Yes. Repeated pauses in breathing, gasping, or choking during sleep are important warning signs. Arrange a medical evaluation to determine whether sleep apnea may be present.
Can a dentist diagnose sleep apnea?
A dentist trained in dental sleep medicine can evaluate oral health and assess whether a patient may be a candidate for oral appliance therapy. However, sleep apnea diagnosis requires appropriate medical evaluation and sleep testing, with diagnosis and severity determined by a qualified medical provider.
Can treating sleep apnea improve daytime fatigue?
Some patients experience improvements in daytime sleepiness and quality of life when their sleep apnea is effectively treated. The degree of improvement varies, and persistent fatigue may have additional causes that require evaluation.
Take the Next Step Toward Better Sleep
If you’re experiencing persistent daytime fatigue, loud snoring, morning headaches, or other possible signs of sleep apnea, don’t ignore them. An appropriate evaluation can help identify the cause of your symptoms and determine whether treatment is needed.
At the Center for Dental Sleep Health in Nashua, NH, Dr. Tara Levesque-Vogel and Dr. Keith Levesque help patients explore oral appliance therapy when appropriate and coordinate care with medical providers. Call (603) 886-4300 to discuss your concerns and learn about your next steps. We welcome patients from Nashua, Hudson, Merrimack, Milford, and surrounding Southern New Hampshire communities.