Sleep apnoea affects both children and adults. As the name suggests, this problem occurs when you sleep. However, if you have sleep apnoea you will feel its effects during the day, although you probably won’t know it’s sleep apnoea that is the cause.
Effects of sleep apnoea
Sleep apnoea is a serious — but common — disorder that stops you breathing while you sleep. This happens because your airway is blocked for periods of time during the night. The result is a lack of oxygen reaching your lungs. The blockage is what causes you to either snore loudly and/or make choking noises as you try to breathe. When your brain realises it can't get enough oxygen, it wakes your body up. But not you. As far as you know, you're still asleep. Your body, however, has to wake up just long enough to restart the breathing before falling asleep. Which is why those who from sleep apnoea wake up feeling like they haven't slept well, despite getting a solid eight or nine hours sleep.
What actually causes sleep apnoea?
Sleep apnoea has different causes in adults and children. In adults, the main causes are an excess of soft tissue in the mouth and throat. When you sleep, your throat and tongue muscles are more relaxed. An excess of soft tissue can cause your airway to be blocked. The symptoms of child sleep apnoea are enlarged adenoids, tonsils, or an overbite. Childhood obesity is not as likely to cause sleep apnoea as adult obesity is.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea
We have a team capable of diagnosing and treating sleep apnoea. Some of the symptoms include:
Feeling tired, or sleepiness during the day
Pauses in breathing (while you’re asleep)
Frequent (or loud) snoring
Waking up with a dry mouth or a sore throat
Depression, moodiness or irritability
Waking up with headaches
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty with memory, or learning problems
It is unlikely that you would exhibit every one of these symptoms. However, if you are experiencing a combination of these symptoms, we do encourage you to visit us. We do appreciate that it’s unlikely the average person would know that this problem can be treated by a dentist.