Are you familiar with the symptoms of sleep apnea? Snoring and excessive tiredness during the day are two of the most common examples, but there can be other consequences as well. In particular, sleep apnea can often have an impact on your dreams – and in many cases, it can even lead to vivid nightmares. Here’s a closer look at the relationship between sleep apnea and dreaming.
What Exactly is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that affects millions of people in the United States alone. Having sleep apnea means that your breathing is being repeatedly interrupted while you slumber. Said interruptions are often linked to blockage of the upper airway by the soft tissues in your mouth and throat. Because each pause in breathing can force your body to wake up, sleep apnea can make it very difficult to enjoy quality sleep.
How Can Sleep Apnea Affect Dreaming?
It should be noted that people with sleep apnea tend to have fewer dreams in general. Dreaming usually occurs during the REM stage of the sleep cycle. However, because sleep apnea constantly wakes you up, it can drastically decrease the amount of time you spend in REM sleep, thus resulting in less dreaming.
That being said, people with sleep apnea can still have dreams, and in many cases said dreams end up being nightmares. This may be attributed to the lack of oxygen influencing your dreams; strangulations, trying to breathe underwater, and being stuck in an elevator are all common examples of nightmares that people with sleep apnea tend to have.
Particularly disturbing sleep apnea nightmares can end up affecting you during the day, often contributing to daytime anxiety and depression.
How Can You Improve Your Sleep?
If you have been having nightmares lately and suspect that they could be a result of sleep apnea, you should have a sleep test performed. Once your sleep disorder has been diagnosed, you can figure out the best treatment method for improving the quality of your slumber.
Sometimes your dentist may be able to help by providing you with an oral appliance. Wearing this device can allow you to maintain a clear airway during the night. Keeping your airway unobstructed often goes a long way toward decreasing the frequency of sleep apnea episodes.
Sleep apnea can affect your quality of life in a number of ways, but luckily the right form of treatment can significantly improve your symptoms. If you think you may be suffering from sleep-disordered breathing, be sure to seek help from a professional as soon as you can!
About the Practice
Here at Dental Partners of Newburyport, we have multiple dentists who firmly believe in the importance of truly getting to understand patients before suggesting any kind of treatment. Among the many services we offer, we are proud to provide oral appliances for treating sleep apnea. To schedule a consultation at our practice, visit our website or call (978) 465-5358.