Sleep Disorder Dentistry: Tell us all about your symptoms, come for a free consultation to our Noblesville, Indiana office! (near Carmel and Fishers)

Did you know your snoring problem can lead to serious health concerns? Even death! 

When you sleep, your heart slows itself down and it relieves the stress you've gathered throughout your day. Your body needs time to decompress and gather energy to face another morning. Your blood pressure drops. Your body and brain refresh itself. You decrease the severity of age-related diseases. You can control illnesses such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and memory loss.

Impaired sleep can harm your heart by putting undue stress and strain on the muscle. Cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes and in extreme cases, death, have all been linked, to sleep debt. Chronic sleep loss hinders your body's ability to perform even basic metabolic functions, including regulating your hormones. 

The effects of sleep deprivation can lead to severe health concerns and an untimely death. Sleep deficiencies can negatively affect your brain function, which increases your stress hormones and leads to depression.

Weight Gain - Sleep loss boosts your appetite and... your waist line.

When your body is cheated out of sleep, there are numerous physical consequences. Lack of sleep affects your hormones, your appetite and your mood. When you are tired, you tend to crave comfort foods and are more likely to indulge your craving for them. Rather than grabbing for the celery sticks, you will chose chocolate, chips and candy.

Although you may feel like you’ve received a temporary boost in your energy, you will find you are hungry more frequently. Because the real problem is your sleepiness not your hunger, it will lead you not just in making poor choices but frequent poor choices.

Furthermore, when you are tired, you are less resistant to stress, which triggers emotional eating for a lot of people. People will use food to keep awake, again, failing to recognize its sleep your body is craving, not the food. 

 

Bedwetting - The average family spends more on disposible diapers than it costs to correct the sleep disorder

Most children with bedwetting have no medical reason for doing so. There are, however, a category of children who begin bedwetting after developing sleep disorders.

The most common disorder associated with soiling the bed is sleep apnea. This condition blocks air from getting from the nose and mouth, to the lungs while you sleep. There is a prevalent link showing children with sleep apnea are at an increased risk for nighttime wetting, more so than children not suffering from any sleep problems.

Children disturbed with sleep apnea do not get restful sleep. Therefore, when they are in a sleep state, it takes them longer to be fully aware and it decreases their response time. It prevents them from waking up when their bladders are full and they end up wetting the bed. Additionally, the breathing disorder puts excess pressure on the bladder and can contribute to an increase in urine production.

Loss Of Libido - Not a lot of men will openly discuss  they have trouble getting romantic.

Snoring and/or sleep apnea critically hinder the quality of your sleep. Not getting enough rest can be extremely damaging to your sex life. Most men would attribute problems between the sheets to many external factors: stress, work, kids, money, responsibilities, family obligations, etc. The truth is, sleep deprived men have disrupted body clocks and a much poorer libido than those getting adequate sleep throughout the night.

Reports have indicated that men who habitually snore or suffer from sleep apnea secrete abnormally low levels of testosterone throughout the night. The lack of this hormone results in a malfunctioning libido and can lead to bouts of impotence and lack of sexual desire.

A healthy lifestyle is the best way to ensure a healthy libido. This includes a nutritious diet, ensuring you get your heart rate increasing on a regular basis and reduce and manage your stress. Most importantly, you need sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. Your sex life depends on it. 

 

Depression - Can Antidepressants be responsible for the rise in the prevalence of sleep disorders?

A recent study points out people who suffer from sleep problems are very likely to develop depression and depression-like symptoms at some point. The risk of depression is directly connected to the severity of the sleep disorder. The shorter or poorer-quality of sleep you get at night is directly reflected in the seriousness of the symptoms. Another study implies people with depression are five times more likely to have a breathing-related sleep disorder than non-depressed people.

When depression sets in - antidepressants will generally be prescribed. We all know they can alter and lift a person’s mood. Some antidepressants can also provoke or aggravate sleep disorders. One such disorder – REM behavior disorder – finds people acting out their often violent dreams, while they are asleep.

Doctors are noticing this trend in younger and younger patients. Patients that are relying on antidepressants. They say this disorder is on the rise as more people turn to the broad use of medications. Knowing what the chemicals are doing to the brain, doctors aren’t surprised by the side affects associated with the drugs. 

 

Relationships - Shortfall in Your Relationships due to lack of sleep.

A bed partner is prone to snoring, while the other spends their night nudging and elbowing and grumbling through another sleepless night. At some point, in those dark, deep morning hours, a trek to the uncomfortable couch or spare bedroom happens. Usually the culprit is completely unaware of what has taken place. Completely unaware their spouse is annoyed, discontent and ready to move on.

A peaceful night’s sleep may be the secret to a successful marriage. While snoring and its related sufferings are preventing you from getting a full and restful sleep, you probably don’t recognize the damage it’s taking on your relationships. You don’t recognize the damage and you don’t fully appreciate what your spouse is going through.

If you are waking during the night or if you struggle with continuous snoring, your bed partner's sleep is equally compromised if they, night after night, are exposed to your horrible sleep habits, their sleep is being equally divided.

Both people lack the proper amount of sleep. This can result in an increase in tension, conflict and ultimately a strain on the marriage.

Job Performance - Is your Lack of Sleep Seriously Affecting Your Job Performance?

Fatigued employees are costing organizations and companies billions of dollars in lost productivity. What does that mean for you? It could equal the loss of your job! Caffeine-stimulated and sleep deprived employees have an awful rate of job satisfaction. With no other major obstacle present, lack of sleep alone can lead them to hating their jobs. That news isn’t too promising for employers, given the general workforce is getting less sleep on average.

If your position requires you to deal directly with clients and customers, being tired can negatively impact your company’s bottom line. The connection between happy employees and satisfied customers is obvious although sleep deprived workers are virtually alienating customers.

When you are tired, your mind and body aren't functioning at normal capacity, making it hard to get through your work day. You lack concentration – routinely making mistakes, showing your impatience with co-workers and showing apathy toward your job.

 

Safety Issues - When Sleep decreases...Safety Risk Factors Increase

Fatigue and carelessness resulting from sleep loss, contributes to more disasters than we're aware of. More than one-third of people polled, who said they had driven while drowsy, indicated they have fallen asleep at the wheel!

While it shocks no one to learn lack of sleep can alter emotions and can trigger a bad mood, it may be astounding to realize that sleep deprived individuals have the same reaction time as someone under the influence of alcohol. A recent study indicates sleep deprived folks account for well over half of all accidents on the road. 

Driving while drowsy sounds harmless enough. Going about your daily routine when you are sleep deprived doesn’t appear to be hurting anyone. The truth is – it’s dangerous. Sleepiness is a non-discriminating liability and can impair your reaction time, your physical and mental capabilities and your ability to process information and make judgments.