Sleep disorders can negatively affect your health, emotions and relationships. Often, dental solutions can surprisingly help alleviate many symptoms including the following effects of poor sleep quality. 

Depression and Sleep Apnea

Are Depression And A Lack Of Sleep Related?

People who suffer from a sleep disorder are more likely to develop depression.

We’ve all been there at some point. Feeling out of sorts, down in the dumps, not wanting to get out of bed. These feelings are normal, but if they last more than a couple of weeks, they can be a predictor of depression. Depression occurs when these feelings last for a prolonged period of time and stop you from leading a normal life.

A lack of sleep can cause depression to worsen, although it doesn’t usually cause it. When you’re depressed, it’s hard to keep up your daily routine and fatigue can make it even harder to face the day.

Research shows a direct correlation between sleep problems and depression. If you have a sleep disorder, you’re more likely to develop depression or depression-like symptoms at some point. The more severe the sleep deprivation, the higher the risk of depression. Studies indicate that depressed people are five times more likely to have a sleep disorder related to breathing problems.

Antidepressants can cause or worsen sleep disorders.

When depression sets in, antidepressants are often prescribed. We all know they can alter and lift a person’s mood. Some antidepressants can also induce or magnify sleep disorders. One of these disorders– REM behavior disorder – causes people, while sleeping, to act out their violent dreams.

Physicians are noticing this trend in young patients who are relying more on medication to treat depression. There are a number of side affects associated with antidepressants.

Sleep Apnea's Affect on Your Health

Snoring and Sleep Apnea Could Have a Big Impact on Your Health

Which aspects of your health do you put at risk by neglecting snoring and signs of sleep apnea?

• Risk of heart disease

• Risk of heart attack

• Risk of stroke

• Lowered immune system

You might think your snoring is simply keeping your household awake, which is bad enough in itself, but it’s also preventing you from getting a decent night’s sleep too and the effects of prolonged sleep deprivation are far-reaching and potentially dangerous, especially if you neglect it. Dr. Mark T. Weiser is a trained sleep apnea dentist in Santa Barbara who may be able to help you. Dr. Weiser is expert in treating mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea and snoring.

Restorative Sleep is Vital!

Restorative sleep is an essential element to good health, to feeling awake and alert, and to all bodily functions including the immune system and hormone regulation. Sleep breathing disorders prevent deep and restorative sleep and can lead to a plethora of health problems as well as impacting your quality of life. Sleep apnea can even lead to death.

Sleep Apnea And Safety Concerns

How Safe You Are Is In Direct Proportion To The Amount Of Sleep You Get.

We’ve all read the newspaper stories. A vehicle suddenly goes out of control for no apparent reason, lives are lost and others changed forever. The cause of the accident: “The driver fell asleep at the wheel”.

Impaired sleep is a major cause of accidents. Driver fatigue accounts for over 50 percent of traffic accidents.

None of us are surprised to learn sleep can make us edgy and irritable, but did you know that if you are sleep deprived, your reaction time can be the same as if you were under the influence of alcohol?

You become a danger to yourself and to others. Your reaction time and physical and mental capabilities are impaired.

Sleep Apnea and Snoring Can Kill a Relationship

Is Sleep Deprivation Related to a High Divorce Rate?

Fact: Snoring can be incredibly stressful on a relationship.

It happens every day. One of you snores and the other spends the night tossing and turning, elbowing and nudging, finally giving up and stumbling to the guest bedroom or sofa. Resentment builds.

No snoring could mean a happier marriage.

You’re not the only one suffering from your snoring. It’s taking a toll on your partner as well. His or her sleep is impacted as well. If you’re both tired and tense from a sleep deprivation, conflict can arise.

There’s a higher rate of divorce among couples where at least one has a sleep disorder.

It’s no joke. Snoring can lead to relationship breakdown. The emotional toll of sleep loss is more than many couples can take.

Other relationships are being damaged by your sleep loss. At first, your personality undergoes subtle changes, then you become noticeably irritable, intolerant and impatient. Friends, co-workers and other family members start to draw away.

Sleep loss can make problems or disagreements seem larger than they are. You’re not communicating as well, little things get magnified out of proportion and before you know it,things are blowing up around you.

While Dr. Weiser in not a marriage counselor, he has saved hundreds of relationships through snoring treatment and sleep apnea treatment. 

Weight Gain and Sleep Apnea

Are You Watching What You Eat And Working Out, But Still Gaining Weight?

Sleep loss increases your appetite…and your waistline.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to sleep and wake up weighing less? No diets, no exercising, no counting calories? Just lie down, go to sleep and wake up thinner.

Believe it or not, the key to weight loss can be as simple as getting adequate rest.

Studies indicate a correlation between weight gain and lack of sleep. Good sleep = good health. Sleep deficiencies can change certain hormones which control hunger. This can result in increased appetite and high calorie food cravings.

When you’re sleep deprived, your hormones, your appetite and your mood are all affected. You crave comfort food. You’re more likely go to for the chocolate, chips and candy – a sugar fix that gives you a temporary burst of energy. All too soon, you’re hungry again, and craving more sugar to provide energy.

But the real reason behind the eating is sleep loss.

But the real problem is a lack of sleep, not hunger. Fatigue reduces your ability to handle stress. Stress can also lead to emotional eating.

Sleep Apnea and Sex Drive

A Better Night’s Sleep Could Equal a Better Sex Life

Is sleep apnea having an impact on your libido or the libido of your partner? Santa Barbara dentist Dr. Mark T. Weiser has seen many patients who have had sleep apnea impact many aspects of their life, including their job, their health, and their sex life. The amount of disruption to your life is astounding and beyond that, it puts your health at unhealthy levels of risk.

Sleep Apnea and Sex

Lack of sleep is a byproduct of sleep apnea and who wants sex when they’re exhausted all the time? Sleep breathing disorders like sleep apnea are most commonly known for the side-effect of heavy snoring and gasping for air during the night but while that’s happening, it’s also impacting your body’s ability to get a deep and relaxing sleep. Beyond ruining the mood, sleep apnea could also negatively impact testosterone levels, too, and this could have a big impact on your libido.

A Healthier Lifestyle Helps Sleep Apnea

Eating well, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body mass index can all help with sleep apnea symptoms. You might need additional help, too, such as a CPAP machine. Santa Barbara dentist Dr. Weiser can offer alternatives to CPAP machines for mild to moderate sleep apnea sufferers, too. Dental appliances or dental work could help open your airways and get you a better night’s sleep, leaving you feeling better and improving your mood and your libido.

Sleep Apnea and Job Performance

A Trip to the Dentist Could Help You Save Your Job

Sleep apnea can have far-reaching effects on your life. It could even go as far as costing you your job or resulting in a drastic accident in the workplace. Sleep breathing disorders are a rampant problem but Santa Barbara dentist Dr. Mark T. Weiser offers solutions for mild to moderate sleep apnea.

The Importance of Dealing with Sleep Deprivation

Do you constantly feel sleep-deprived? Sleep apnea can have an impact on your health and it could impact other areas of your life, including your job. Lack of restful sleep could impact your ability to get to work on time, it could impact the number of sick days you take, and it can also impact your on-the-job performance and could even become a safety risk because it will impact your reaction time, your perception of distance, and more. Sleep breathing disorders can have a big impact on your life and could even cost you your job.

Sleep Breathing Disorders and Your Job

Whether you work at a desk job, in retail, on a production line, have a driving job, or perform job duties in a different environment, continuous lack of sleep will impact your productivity. You could be making mistakes, you could be sending the wrong message to customers and coworkers, and you could be putting your job at risk as well as creating a safety risk to yourself and / or others.

Sleep apnea stops the body from getting the restorative sleep needed to feel well-rested and rejuvenated. This breathing disorder can cause you to wake from a few to dozens of times a night, whether you realize it or not. The lack of sleep can leave you exhausted when your alarm clock buzzes signaling that it’s time to get to work and by the middle of your work day you could be feeling ready to crawl under your desk for a nap!

In addition to impacting your job, sleep breathing disorders can impact your quality of life and your overall health, putting you at increased risk for health problems over time. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, consider getting some help. Our Santa Barbara dental office can help you get tested for sleep apnea (we even offer at home sleep apnea testing equipment) and can provide a number of sleep apnea treatment options for mild to moderate sleep breathing disorders.

Do I Have Sleep Apnea?

Snoring can lead to as well as be a sign of sleep apnea, a blockage in your breathing airways. Your body gets deprived of oxygen, leading to continual gasping for air that prevents deep sleep. It can have a negative impact on existing health problems as well as create new ones.

If you snore and / or suspect you have sleep apnea or another sleep breathing disorder, Dr. Mark T. Weiser, a Santa Barbara general and cosmetic dentist can help you get tested for sleep apnea as well as explore treatment options based on your unique situation. Dr. Weiser is trained in sleep apnea treatments such as oral appliances, orthodontics, and other treatments that can help. Contact Dr. Mark T. Weiser’s Santa Barbara dental office today at (805) 899-3600 to explore treatment options to help you get a better night’s sleep and to help you ensure that you aren’t letting sleep apnea impact your health.