What Could Happen if You Don’t Treat Sleep Apnea?

Sure, it’s annoying that your sleep apnea makes you wake up almost every hour, but it’s just a sleep disorder. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you don’t get it treated?

It turns out that sleep apnea can have some pretty serious effects on your general health – mostly because of how important it is for your body to rest! If you experience one of the complications listed below, it’s in your best interest to talk to your doctor and sleep dentist in the Woodlands about managing your symptoms.

High Blood Pressure

Whether your sleep apnea symptoms make you fully wake up or not, being constantly pulled out of deep REM sleep stresses your body out. Literally. As your breathing momentarily stops, your brain goes into fight-or-flight and releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Ultimately, the chain reaction increases blood pressure levels.

Cardiovascular Complications

Since sleep apnea interrupts your breathing at night, it also has a negative impact on your oxygen levels. This interferes with how blood circulates throughout your body and basically makes your heart work harder. As a result, patients with untreated sleep apnea are more likely to have heart attacks, strokes, heart palpitations, and heart failure.  

Insulin Dysregulation

Deep sleep gives your body time to regulate your hormones – one of which is insulin. Though it’s not accurate to say that sleep apnea causes type 2 diabetes, it does make it more difficult to maintain balanced levels of insulin. To put this in perspective, about 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes also have sleep apnea.

Irregular Weight Gain

Hormone regulation isn’t the only thing your body does (or tries to do) while you sleep. This is also an important time for converting food and stored fat into energy. That’s right – sleep apnea can contribute to irregular weight gain by interrupting this process! If you’re having trouble maintaining a healthy weight, your sleep apnea symptoms certainly aren’t helping.

Sleep apnea can have some disastrous effects on your health, but the good news is that it’s fairly easy to get treatment. After being diagnosed through an official sleep test, your sleep dentist in the Woodlands can provide you with an oral sleep appliance that will make it easier for you to breathe at night. Your solution to better rest and improved health could be just around the corner!

About the Practice

Dr. Robert and Dan Dernick are your sleep apnea dream-team here in the Woodlands, Texas. As qualified sleep dentists, they can help patients with obstructive sleep apnea breathe easier at night and get the quality rest they deserve. If you’re concerned about how your sleep apnea symptoms might be affecting your overall health, contact Dr. Robert and Dr. Dan at 281-783-3419 to schedule your appointment today.