Sleep Apnea Doesn't Just Affect Your Sleep

When most people think about Sleep Apnea, they think about snoring, restless nights, or waking up gasping for air. But sleep apnea can affect much more than what happens while you are in bed.

Sleep is not simply a time when your body shuts down. It is an active period of restoration and recovery.

While you sleep, your body has an opportunity to repair and restore itself from the demands of the day. Important processes take place during sleep, including tissue repair, immune system support, memory consolidation, energy restoration, and regulation of many of the systems that help keep your body functioning properly.

When Sleep Apnea repeatedly interrupts your breathing, these important processes can be disrupted.

When Your Body Doesn't Get the Recovery It Needs

Sleep Apnea occurs when breathing repeatedly stops or becomes restricted during sleep. These interruptions can happen many times throughout the night, sometimes without you even realizing that you are waking up.

Even if you spend seven or eight hours in bed, you may not be getting the continuous, restorative sleep your body needs. You may wake up feeling as though you barely slept.

During the day, you might experience fatigue, mental fog, difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, morning headaches, irritability, or changes in mood. You may find yourself relying on coffee or other stimulants simply to get through the day. You may also notice that your motivation is lower and that everyday activities seem more difficult than they used to.

You may wake up saying, “I slept all night, so why am I still exhausted?”

Over time, continually experiencing poor-quality sleep can affect your work, relationships, energy, and overall enjoyment of life.

Your Body Needs Sleep to Recover

Think about what happens when your body is under stress during the day. You use energy, your muscles and tissues experience normal wear and tear, and your mind processes an enormous amount of information. Sleep provides your body with an important opportunity to recover from those demands.

When sleep is repeatedly interrupted, your body may not have the same opportunity to move through the normal stages of restorative sleep.

The problem may not simply be how many hours you spent in bed. It may be the quality and continuity of the sleep you are getting.

Better sleep isn't simply about feeling rested in the morning. Sleep gives your body valuable time to recover, restore, and prepare for another day. When that sleep is continually disrupted, your opportunity for that recovery can be disrupted too.

If you regularly wake up exhausted despite getting what seems like enough sleep, it may be worth asking whether your sleep is truly restorative.

Don't Ignore the Signs

Sleep Apnea deserves proper assessment and treatment. If you suspect you may have Sleep Apnea, speaking with your physician or another qualified healthcare provider is an important first step.

Loud or persistent snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep, gasping or choking at night, excessive daytime sleepiness, waking with headaches, and consistently feeling unrefreshed after sleep are signs worth discussing with a healthcare professional.

Supporting Better Sleep and Well-Being

Once sleep concerns have been appropriately assessed, complementary approaches may also have a role in supporting relaxation, stress management, and healthy sleep patterns.

Acupuncture and other supportive approaches may be incorporated as part of an individualized plan, depending on the person's circumstances. At Valley Mist Health, we take the time to understand each person's individual concerns and develop care around their needs.