Sleep Apnea Treatment In Carlsbad, Ca Improves Your Rest – And Health!

DoDo you snore loudly? Sleep in awkward positions? Take frequent bathroom breaks? Have your nighttime behaviors driven your partner to the sofa or spare room? Do you wake with a headache and feel drowsy all day? If so, you could have obstructive sleep apnea, a serious medical condition affecting countless men and women across the country. Dr. Al A. Fallah in Carlsbad, CA offers an innovative treatment with unexpected benefits.

UNDERSTANDING SLEEP APNEA

As a person with OSA, when you drift off to sleep, the tongue and tissues at the back of your throat collapse inward. This blocks the natural flow of air into and out of your lungs – partially or fully. The apneic take a few normal breaths before the neck relaxes. Then breathing becomes shallow and irregular. “Hypopnea” is partial breathing that lasts at least ten seconds. Breathing may cease completely for up to several minutes – ten seconds or more is classified as “apnea.”

Blood oxygen levels drop dramatically. The brain senses danger and responds with adrenalin to activate your fight or flight defense mechanism. The rush causes you to awaken suddenly, usually with a loud choking or snorting sound. You may reposition and take a few deep breaths before the cycle repeats. If you have severe sleep apnea, you may have 30 or more of these events PER HOUR. No wonder you feel tired in the morning!

WHY SLEEP QUALITY IS ESSENTIAL

Sleep occurs in four phases. In stage one, muscles begin to relax, but your mind is easily roused. If you wake from stage one, you probably feel like you didn’t sleep at all. As you enter stage two, breathing and heart rate slows, body temperature drops, and conscious brain waves settle down. At the deeper end of stage two, muscles fully relax, and blood pressure drops. Tissue growth and repair begin. Critical cell regeneration occurs in stage three with the release of hormones that travel throughout the body, acting as messengers to coordinate metabolism, growth, immune activity, and other vital functions. Energy is restored as brain waves slow down even more. During stage four, unconscious brain activity increases. Breathing and heart rate may become irregular in response to dreaming. While it is quite active in REM sleep, this is the brain’s chance to rest from deliberate thought – kind of like recreation compared to physical labor.

Most people with sleep apnea never get beyond the second stage. Since regulation of bodily functions and cellular renewal occurs in the third stage, the impact on health is profound.

EFFECTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION

• Higher risk of serious health problems – People with sleep disordered breathing are more likely to have cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
• Obesity – A restful night’s sleep suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates appetite controlling leptin.
• Thought impairment – Changes in brain wave activity during sleep are linked to formation of neuronal pathways related to learning, memory, and creativity.
• Depression and anxiety – Most people who have these conditions get less than six hours of quality sleep per night.
• Toxic build-up – The glymphatic system flushes waste from the brain. It is about ten times more active during sleep than in waking hours.
• Lowered libido – Men with OSA typically have low testosterone levels.
• Accelerated skin aging – Lack of sleep causes excessive release of cortisol, a hormone that breaks down collagen. Skin becomes thinner and loses elasticity.
• Increased risk of accidents – Drowsiness behind the wheel impairs reaction time much like alcohol. It is also a significant factor in workplace incidents (including historical disasters like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill).

DNA APPLIANCE THERAPY OR MRNA APPLIANCE THERAPY TREATMENT

Sleep apnea deserves integrated medical attention. Once your condition has been diagnosed by a physician and severity determined, Dr. Fallah can help with airway dentistry. He may prescribe DNA (Daytime-Nighttime Appliance) therapy. Unlike CPAP or other oral appliances, the DNA device works to correct the source of sleep-disordered breathing, for lasting relief.

The removable appliance looks something like an orthodontic retainer. Worn in the evening and at night, it encourages the body to naturally remodel the airway, without surgery. By developing the proper structure of upper and lower jaws, teeth fall into straighter alignment, and facial appearance is dramatically improved. Drug-free, non-surgical DNA treatment is safe for patients of all ages.

Learn more about the surprising benefits of sleep apnea treatment in Carlsbad, CA. Call (760) 730-1600 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Fallah.