After a good night’s sleep, you feel refreshed, alert, and ready to take on the day. However, a solid eight hours of shuteye does more than just make you feel good. If you regularly get an adequate amount of restful sleep, you can prevent serious health problems and enjoy a higher quality of life. Unfortunately, sleep apnea in Allen Park robs many people of the benefits of sleep. If it goes on for an extended period of time, it can even be life-threatening. Let’s discuss the importance of sleep and how sleep apnea therapy may be able to help you get the health-saving rest you deserve.
What Sleep Accomplishes
During sleep, your brain and body don’t simply shut down. In fact, they’re still very active as they carry out tasks that they don’t do during waking hours. Some of the things that sleep accomplishes include:
- Your body repairs tissues and muscles.
- Your brain processes information you received during the day, storing it in long-term memory.
- Your body regulates its immune system.
- The parts of your brain that handle emotions function better after a restful night of sleep.
The Consequences of Poor Sleep
Given everything that sleep accomplishes, it isn’t difficult to understand why a lack of high-quality rest can have devastating consequences. Numerous scientific studies have shown a strong link between inadequate sleep and obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular illness, decreased work performance, depression, slowed reaction times, and other serious conditions.
It’s also important to understand that sleep deficits accumulate over time. While some people may claim that they are simply “used to” getting a few hours of rest each night, that probably isn’t the case. The vast majority of people need around eight hours of sleep each night. If they continually try to function on just five or six hours, their performance at work and their attention span will grow worse and worse as the weeks and months pass.
How to Get More Sleep
For some people, a few lifestyle changes are all that is necessary to ensure more, higher-quality rest. For others, a doctor’s help is necessary. Millions of people suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes short bouts during the night when a person is not breathing. Therefore, it is difficult if not impossible for them to get a full eight hours of high-quality sleep.
If you suspect you may have sleep apnea, a sleep test can provide an official diagnosis. Then, your dentist in Allen Park may be able to design a custom mouthpiece for you that keeps your airway open and allows for easier breathing throughout the night.
Are you doing all you can to protect yourself from the consequences of inadequate sleep? Getting more high-quality rest could improve your daily life and spare you from life-threatening health conditions.
About the Author
Dr. Frank Stankiewicz is a general dentist with over 20 years of experience in his field. He has a special interest in dental sleep medicine and is passionate about helping his patients get the high-quality rest they need to function at their best. If you would like to learn more about sleep apnea therapy or Dr. Stankiewicz’s other services, contact our office at 313-928-6100.
