Many people experience moderate to severe morning headaches. If you wake up with a morning headache, sleep apnea and snoring could be to blame. What is the connection between morning headaches, sleep apnea and snoring?

Sleep apnea occurs while you are asleep. People who suffer from sleep apnea stop breathing, often hundreds of times during the night. How does sleep apnea have a connection to morning headaches? The brain is literally starved of oxygen during these hundreds of nightly episodes. If sleep apnea is left untreated the continued “starvation of oxygen to your brain” can actually cause slight brain damage, so it’s no wonder that a person would get morning headaches from this!

One of the main reasons a person that is snoring has morning headaches is due to the snorer having untreated sleep apnea. A symptom of sleep apnea is chronic snoring. While you snore, the constant vibration of your throat tissue can cause damage to the back of your head and neck, causing your morning headache.

If you experience morning headaches, be sure to consult with your doctor. Morning Headaches could be an indication of a more serious health concern.

Dr. Sosenko is a Diplomat 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. Visit her podcast page for  more information.

During snoring muscles relax in the back of the throat narrowing the airway to a smaller opening. As you breathe in your sleep, air is forced through this smaller opening causing vibrations known as snoring.

Although snoring may be harmless, it can be a sign of a more serious medical condition which progresses from Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

We are genuinely concerned about your health. Successful treatment of obstructed sleep apnea can reduce the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke and metabolic disorders.

DID YOU KNOW? Genetics and family tendencies play a large role in the presence of sleep disorders.

DID YOU KNOW? Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea sufferers may have negative effects on driving alertness and concentration levels.

DID YOU KNOW? Other sleep disorders may predict tendencies towards diseases like Parkinson’s.

DID YOU KNOW? Successful treatment of apnea could eliminate or reduce the need of medications.

DID YOU KNOW? A Person living with a snoring partner often exhibits similar symptoms as an untreated apnea patient.

Visit our website to learn more about the health consequences of untreated sleep apnea! Dr. Sosenko and her team can help you love sleeping with your bed partner again.

Dr. Sosenko, founder of Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois in Naperville, helps snoring and sleep apnea sufferers treat their sleep disorders. Visit her website: www.TiredOfSnoring.com or call 1-800-SNORING to learn more.