Optimize Your Sleep With This Fast Test

Do you wonder how well you are sleeping?

Is your room set up for the best night of sleep possible?  We often give tips on how to arrange your room in the best way for optimal sleep.

Today, one of our oral appliance patients at Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois sent us the following link to share with our others that suffer from poor sleep.

BBC Sleep Site

Try out the short test to give you a sleep profile.  They make excellent suggestions to help you change your habits to give you a better night’s sleep.

Not sure if you are alert enough to get behind the steering wheel? Scroll down the BBC site, and try out the Sheep Dash test. This VERY short test will give you your reaction to stimulus time and might make you rethink getting behind the wheel.

If you snore, or suffer from sleep apnea, I urge you to see your physician and discuss your personal situation.  Sleep is essential to your health, when you take the time to improve your quality of sleep, you will improve your overall health.

It’s Not Just Sleep Apnea Sufferers that Are Not Able to Tolerate Their CPAP

There are alternative options to a CPAP machine.

Many sleep apnea sufferers are not given an option.

If you are like Mike, or Molly, visit our website:  www.TiredofSnoring.com and learn more about the #1 alternative to CPAP – Oral Appliance Therapy.

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois would love to help you and your bed partner get a good night’s sleep, CPAP-Free.

The Biggest Loser Contestants, CPAP, Sleep Apnea and Weight Loss

What do they have in common?

Biggest Loser Contestants are serious about losing weight.  If you are serious about losing weight or maintaining your current weight, you really need to do 3 things:

  1. get the right amount of sleep
  2. exercise
  3. eat right

Sleep + Exercise + a Healthy Diet = Weight Loss

What has medical research found? Well, when you’re sleep deprived, your hormone levels that influence your eating behavior increase. At the same time  your leptin (which tells your brain to stop) levels decrease. This leads to an increased craving for food and not feeling full. Adding to the problem, sleep deprived people tend to chose different foods to snack on -mainly high calorie sweets and salty and starchy foods.

Did you know

  • Approximately 65% of Americans are overweight or obese
  • 63% of Americans report they do not get at least 8 hours of sleep per night

What can you do to stop this lack of sleep and overeating circle? The number one way is to get the sleep you need EACH night.  Most adults need 7 to 9 hours.  Set a sleep pattern for yourself and get yourself into a regular sleep routine.  Start with the minimum of 7 hours for a consecutive week.  If you awake unrested, add 30 minutes each night until you notice your alertness return and your appetite decrease.

What did the Biggest Loser Contestant do to help with weight loss?

You can read more here from the National Sleep Foundations Blog about Sherry and her  daughter Ashley’s sleep apnea diagnosis and CPAP use:  National Sleep Foundation Blog Article

Did Sherry and Ashley have any treatment options available to them in additon to CPAP Therapy?

Professional Oral Appliance Therapy is an option for treating mild to moderate sleep apnea.  Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) – is a conservative treatment option using an oral appliance for patients to wear during sleep. These devices change the position of mouth structures to maintain an open, unobstructed airway in the throat. There are many types of oral appliances and selection as to which is to be constructed is based on many patient parameters. Proper design, construction, and follow-up care of these devices requires a trained dentist and in depth knowledge of jaw joints and sleep disorders. This type of treatment is “site specific” in that an OAT will have no effect on obstructions high in the upper airway or low in the airway. Patients usually prefer oral appliances to CPAP.

Advantages of using an Oral Appliance (OA)

  • Oral appliances are small and convenient making them easy to carry when traveling
  • Treatment with oral appliances is reversible and non-invasive
  • After becoming acclimated to wearing the appliance, most people find them easy to wear and more comfortable than the nCPAP.
  • Quiet
  • Easily adjustable
  • More comfortable than CPAP resulting in increased use

Latest Research Shows 60% of Recommended CPAP Patients Are Not Following Through With Their CPAP Therapy. Are you One of These Patients?

YES, there is another option for you if you are one of the thousands that have been diagnosed with OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) and are struggling with even the thought of CPAP therapy. Oral Appliance Therapy (O.A.T.) may be the answer for you. Although CPAP therapy has been considered the gold standard of care and 1st line of treatment for apnea, O.A.T has now been elevated to the new standard of care by physicians for mild to moderate OSA patients or severe who can not tolerate CPAP therapy.

Over-The-Counter Snoring Devices: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

Recently, a patient came to see me after having worn an over-the-counter (OTC) anti-snoring device for less than 5 month.  This patient reported to that he was having speaking problems and chewing difficulties. After an oral examination, I found the OTC had caused the patient to undergo “bite-changes” to his teeth and jaw.  Unfortunately, these are just 2 of the side-effects of OTC snoring devices.

The Good

  • OTC Devices are inexpensive
  • OTC Devices can be purchased at many drugstores

The Bad

Unsupervised wearing of these devices can lead to permanent side effects including: permanent dental damage, tooth movement, and jaw problems. Due to OTC construction, the potential for failure is high, discouraging FDA approved and physician recommended treatment with professionally fitted and custom-made Oral Appliances.

 The Ugly

Most importantly, many who try boil and bite devices may be masking obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a life threatening condition in which a person stops breathing repeatedly through the night.

If you are snoring, or believe you may be suffering from sleep apnea, Please discuss your situation with your physician.

For additional information on professional oral devices, (pictured left) call our Naperville, Illinois Dental Sleep Medcine office and request an appointment with Dr. Sosenko.
Visit the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine website:

http://www.aadsm.org/

Dr. Sosenko is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and the founder of Dental Sleep Medicine of Illinois.  She offers snoring and apnea sufferer’s relief through professional oral appliance device therapy. For more information visit her website: www.TiredofSnoring.com .

DENTAL SLEEP AND TMD CENTER OF ILLINOIS

1100 SHERMAN AVE., SUITE 103 | NAPERVILLE, IL | PHONE: 630.369.5508