Why Do We Need Sleep?
Sleep is essential and many important bodily functions occur during sleep, including memory consolidation, hormone regulation, information processing, removal of brain waste and maintenance of immune function.
Aside from the obvious of being tired and cranky if you don’t get enough, it can also increase the risk of numerous health conditions.
Most common being, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Atrial Fibrillation (AF), metabolic disorders such as diabetes and mental health issues.
What’s The Solution?
Restore Sleep Clinic in Cannonvale provides a service for people suffering from poor or disordered sleep.
The most common sleep disorders are insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea, and less common includes parasomnias, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome.
Nathan Harriott is a Registered Psychologist and he and the team at Restore Sleep Clinic in Cannonvale specialise in diagnosing and treating patients with sleeping issues.
The Sleep Physician and Dentist in the team can also assess, diagnose and offer treatment to people with respiratory and dental issues that have a bi-directional relationship with disordered sleep.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a respiratory sleeping disorder.
Nathan explains it as “The airway closes over, the brain’s supply of oxygen is reduced through reduced oxygen levels in blood, the brain detects this and wakes you up to breathe and restore oxygen levels. This is not like normal breathing though, the person typically gasps for air and this is frequently reported by partners of people with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.”
If your airway is obstructed more than five times an hour you are diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
The conditions severity is determined in three categories.
Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is when the airway closes 5-15 times an hour, moderate 15-30 and severe 30 and above.
“If severe it can affect a person’s ability to work, especially if they are in a high-risk occupation or workplace such as a driver, truck drivers, machine operator or miners,” Nathan said.
It can cause significant disruption to both your sleep and your daily life, but with the right care, the symptoms can be dramatically reduced.
How Do We Fix It?
Two types of treatments are available for patients suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
The Mandibular Advancement Splint is good for people suffering with mild to moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and it is a good option for dental issues.
Nathan describes it as being like a top and bottom mouthguard device that pushes the lower jaw forward to open up the airway.
It can also be adjusted, so it can gradually be moved forward as the person using it gets used to it.
The other treatment is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which is a small machine that comes with a nose mask and blows a gentle stream of air to keep the airway open.
CPAP is a good treatment for patients suffering from moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
“We do our best to provide a lot of support to people when they first start using one of these devices so they can get the most out of their treatment,” explained Nathan.
“With two treatment options though, we do have the choice if one treatment isn’t tolerated very well.”
Make An Appointment
Nathan jokes that it is mainly partners that refer their loved ones to the clinic after hearing them snore constantly and experiencing disrupted sleep as a result.
He urges that if you hear your partner snoring unusually, not breathing through the night, making bizarre sounds whilst sleeping or struggling for breath, then to encourage them to make an appointment with Restore Sleep Clinic.
