What Are The Causes of Sleep Apnea in Jupiter?

You wake up out of breath and exhausted all the time. After doing a little research online, it’s pretty clear that you might have sleep apnea. It would make a lot of sense: you get plenty of sleep every night, but you never feel recharged in the morning. What is causing this? Is there something you can do about it? Sleep apnea affects about 20 million Americans each night, and is actually becoming more and more common. Today, Dr. Kenneth Mogell is going to discuss the 5 main causes of sleep apnea, and what you can do about it.

1. Excess Weight

By far, the most common trait shared by people with sleep apnea is excess weight. This is because the extra mass usually places a lot of pressure on the throat, which can lead to the air blockage associated with sleep apnea. The rates of sleep apnea are extremely high among people who are obese (which means that they have a BMI of 30 or more). Unfortunately, due to the increasing rate of childhood obesity, sleep apnea is becoming more prevalent among younger and younger people.

2. Large Neck Size

A large neck (17 inches or more for men and 16 inches or more for women) means that it has more soft tissue that can potentially block the airway. This is usually because of excess weight as well, but not always.

3. Middle Age

While sleep apnea can afflict people at any age, it is more common for people aged from young adulthood to middle age. This is because as you get older, the brain starts to lose its ability to keep your throat muscles firm during the night in order to prevent it from collapsing.

4. Large Tongue or Tonsils

If your tongue or tonsils are large compared to the size of your windpipe, it is much easier for them to block it.

5. Family History

Sleep apnea is a heritable condition. Genetics can influence many of the factors we have just listed, making you more vulnerable to develop sleep apnea.

What Can You Do?

While you can control a few of these factors, some you cannot. The best thing you can do is talk to a medical professional so they can give you a proper evaluation. A good place to start is by taking our sleep test. It only takes about a minute to complete, but will provide vital information in forming a diagnosis. After that, we will be sure to contact you within 24 hours and advise you on how to proceed. We may recommend that you visit a sleep doctor to have a sleep evaluation performed. After that, they and Dr. Mogell can come up with a treatment plan that will help alleviate your sleep apnea.

Have Questions?

Sleep apnea is a very serious condition that can eventually impact your overall health dramatically, so if you have the slightest inkling that you are suffering from it, please seek out help immediately.

If you’d like to know more about what causes sleep apnea and how you can get sleep apnea treatment in Jupiter, please give us a call today.