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| Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) | Snoring | Treatment Options | Oral Appliance Therapy |
 Some Information on this website courtesy of HTL (Health Technology Limited) |
SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING (SDB)Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) is defined as labored respiration during sleep caused by airway obstruction.If you suffer from sleep disordered breathing, as you fall asleep you experience a loss of muscle tone called airway patency. You repeatedly stop breathing, or experience shallow breathing during sleep. This could happen as often as 300+ times a night and can disrupt your quantity and quality of sleep and life. The soft tissues in your airway relax against the tongue, partially cutting off air flow to your lungs. Sleep disordered breathing can be severe to the point of complete airway collapse where your airway gets sucked closed. Those who suffer from sleep disordered breathing experience breathing difficulty ranging from mild to acute: snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Snoring is always indicative of the development or existence of a sleep breathing disorder. Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome is more common in younger women and is often accompanied by headaches, Gastroesophegeal Reflux Disease (GERD) and asthma. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is defined by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute as a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions during sleep…repeated periods of no breathing for at least 10 seconds at a time. These periods are called apenic events and can last up to two minutes. Risk Factors Include:
This is your body’s chance for some relaxation. Normal physiological changes occur when daylight wakes you up. Your heart begins pumping and working harder. Gradually, your heart rate and blood pressure climb. If you are not sleeping well, your body never relaxes. It works hard at night and even harder during the day. The consequence? Cardiovascular Disease
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