A recent study from the Mayo Clinic shows that the route of insomnia is caused by sleep apnea.
We hear people say “I can’t sleep….and I don’t want to take the sleeping pills because they don’t help either….”
This weekend I attended a seminar that updated current concepts in Dental Sleep Medicine; including the rising statistics of sleep disordered breathing (snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia), state of the art therapy with oral appliances and technologies available to Dental Sleep Medicine to help oral appliance efficacy.
It was reported that prescriptions for insomnia are rising dramatically in recent years. A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings studied over 1200 patients of which almost 75% were taking sleep medications for their insomnia. Because of the strong link between insomnia-symptoms and obstructive sleep apnea (snoring, gasping, stopping breathing) the researchers performed sleep studies on about 950 of those patients. 91% of them had moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, evenly distributed between men and women yet none had received a recommendation for a sleep study when they presented with insomnia.
Watch the video here:
If you suffer from insomnia and have symptoms such as snoring, fatigue, grinding or clenching your teeth at night; these could indicate a possible sleep disordered breathing problem, such as sleep apnea.
A sleep evaluation can be done at home or sometimes in a sleep facility to rule this common cause of insomnia in or out. Treatments such as positive airway pressure or oral appliance therapy can be used to restore your restful sleep in these cases.
If you suffer from insomnia and are tired of taking sleeping pills, contact TMJ Sleep Solutions, a dental sleep apnea specialist and he can help facilitate getting you evaluated for sleep apnea.
