Dr Gatti's Blog a Lawrence Dentist Reflections

Today more than ever, the idea of a good night’s sleep is a fleeting one. Scrimping on sleep causes more than midday drowsiness and saggy eyelids – it may raise your blood glucose levels and cause other medical complications that I have written about in previous blogs. We don’t really know why the body needs sleep, however we do know that sleep is a dynamic, complex activity. The hypothalamus tells the body when to sleep, wake up, change blood pressure, help the immune system and regulate hormones for digestion. Every organ of the body, including the hypothalamus depends on sleep to function properly. Lack of sleep interferes with your ability to produce insulin, increases your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, heart attack and stroke. Also, sleepless nights increase the level of stress hormones in your body, causing the body to store fat and make it more difficult to loose weight.

In the past I have talked about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring causing sleep disruption for you and your bed partner. We have also discussed how these can be addressed with oral appliances. Now I would like to review some simple general rules to improve the overall quality of your sleep. I am talking about sleep hygiene. Bottom line is that your bed should not be an extension of your office or family room. The bed is meant for sleep and sex. I can give you some sound advice for sleep; as for sex, well…

Here are some sleep hygiene recommendations:

• Wind down for about 30 minutes prior to bedtime.
• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Avoid exercising or eating within 2 hours of bedtime.
• Avoid caffeine after lunch.
• Limit alcohol intake.
• Don’t eat or watch TV in bed.
• Try relaxing breathing exercises when you get into bed.
• After an estimated 20-30 min. of not falling asleep, get out of bed. Then, do something relaxing, like listening to music or light reading until you are sleepy enough to return to bed. Do not get on the computer.
• Don’t set up camp on the couch or you will begin to associate sleep with the couch and not your bed.

These are fairly straight forward and simple; however, developing good sleep hygiene and a consistent routine is very important to sleep and that is not a laughing matter.

What Is The Number One Cause Of Automobile Accidents On American Roads Each Year?

Answer: Tired driving. Sleep apnea is a huge contributing factor.

Sleep apnea deprives people of the rejuvenating sleep they need. Fragmented sleep filled with arousals, high blood pressure and increasing heart rate does not provide for the sleep your body requires. People suffering from sleep apnea are seven to twelve times more likely to be involved in an auto accident because of their excessive sleepiness. Did you know that sleeping only 4 hours results in equivalent reaction times to those of someone with a blood alcohol level of .08%?!

I fear that I am sounding like a broken record, however the amount of undiagnosed sleep apnea is simply scary, it is one of the most under©diagnosed life threatening disorders in our society today. Believe me, driving down the highway, knowing the statistics, takes much of the relaxation out of a trip.

So, for your health and the well being of everyone around us, take this seriously. If you snore and your bed partner has witnessed you gasp for air, talk to us or your physician. If you snore and disrupt those around you, realize that it may be a sign of a serious illness that can compromise your life. For more detailed information on the medical complications that occur with sleep apnea please see Snoring and Sleep Disorders under Client Services on my main website.

Simple snoring can have a similar effect on your bed partner. Whenever I treat someone who snores, I feel like I am doing a 2 for 1 deal. The effect on the bed partner can often times be more dramatic than on the snorer. It becomes much more than being able to sleep in the same bed © although that is not a bad result either.

Why should you see a dentist if you suffer from sleep apena?

Many of you have asked for some clarification as to what is the concern about snoring and/or sleep apnea, and sleep apnea treatment. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is an illness in which the soft tissues at the back of the throat completely close off the airway so that the air cannot flow into the lungs. In turn, this causes airway blockage and can lead to the reduction of oxygen reaching the brain and the other organs of the body. When this happens, the brain alerts the muscles of the airway to tighten up and unblock the air passage. When this occurs, a loud gasp or snort is usually heard and then breathing begins again. This process of blocking and unblocking the airway causes significant disruption of sleep and is referred as sleep apnea. 

People with sleep apnia are suffering from air starvation every night, therefore reducing the quality of their life during the day. This air starvation leads to reduced alertness, difficulty learning, daytime sleepiness, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetic complications, impotency, and increased risk of traffic accidents. Many people with sleep apnea, also called OSA, will not or cannot wear their continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) devise and this is where we can be invaluable in the treatment of their disease. For this reason we work closely with our clients and their physicians to treat their OSA and have a profound affect on the long term quality of life for each individual.

You may be asking, “Why is my dentist the one treating my medical problem?”  The fact of the matter is that it is because of our expertise with the teeth, tongue, jaws and jaw joints that the dentist is the best person to fit and follow up with the appliance. The dentist role in the treatment is not to diagnose and dictate treatment. At least when I am involved, it is your physician (whether it be your internist, ENT, sleep physician, pulmonologist or cardiologist) who will determine a sleep apnea treatment, my role is to make the correct appliance for you and then adjust it so that the best outcome is realized. This is why I believe it is very important to keep all of your specialists informed of what we are doing and how it is working for you.