How Sleep Apnea Can Negatively Impact Your Ability to Rest Throughout the Night

You may not realize it but there are different stages of sleep. While you’re likely more focused on catching the necessary rest your body needs and slipping into a dream state, each phase is essential to restoring your brain and body’s function, energy, and memory. However, when living with sleep apnea, getting a full night’s rest can sometimes be impossible. Read on to learn more about the various stages of sleep and how sleep apnea can make each phase difficult to achieve.

What Are the Stages of Sleep?

To help you better understand the process your brain and body go through when laying your head down for the night, here is a breakdown of each stage and what happens:

• Stages 1 and 2 – During light sleep, your eye movement will slow down but your body will remain somewhat alert, so you could be easily stirred during this stage. Fortunately, this only lasts a few minutes and before you know it, you’re in stage two, which causes the brain to work in a way that protects it from easy awakenings.
• Stages 3 and 4 – After half of your cycle is complete, you’ll enter stage three, which is known as “deep sleep.” Here your body will begin to repair its muscles and tissues and create cytokines to ensure your immune system and energy levels are restored. The final stage is “REM sleep,” which is short for rapid-eye-movement. Your blood pressure and heart rate will increase, and your breathing will become shallower. Also, your brain will store any information learned that day.

A person normally completes multiple sleep cycles each night, not just one.

How Sleep Apnea Can Make Reaching Each Stage Difficult

Episodes of apnea can be troubling, leading to chronic fatigue, irritability, and other problematic symptoms. Each time you must wake as a result of a blockage in your airway, your brain and body cannot complete the sleep cycle, which can negatively affect your energy levels, memory, muscles and tissues, and immune system.

If you want to be able to function normally day-to-day, it’s imperative that you get the rest you need each night. This may require undergoing a sleep test and receiving necessary treatment from a sleep dentist in Powell.

Ways to Treat Sleep Apnea

While it is possible to get better sleep with the help of a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure), many patients believe it to be too bulky and difficult to maneuver. Fortunately, there are oral appliances that can be created, which are much easier to use. Worn in the mouth while you sleep, an oral device can shift your jaw in a way to keep your airway open while you sleep, allowing you to breathe freely and avoid sudden awakenings.

Getting adequate rest is essential if you want to be able to live life to the fullest. Make sure you find the right professional to treat your sleep apnea, so you can start sleeping and breathing better.

About the Author
Dr. Shelley Shults is a board-certified nurse practitioner, general dentist, and dental sleep medicine practitioner. In 2001, she graduated from The Ohio State University with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Dr. Shults is committed to helping patients get adequate sleep, which is why she provides safe and effective treatment designed to unblock airways and ensure a better quality of life. Contact us at (614) 396-9310 if you need help to address your sleep apnea.