Is It Just Snoring, or Something More Serious?

As many as half of all adults in the country may snore regularly, and virtually everyone snores from time to time. Considering it in isolation, snoring is simply the vibration of relaxed tissue in your throat as you breathe when asleep; it doesn’t cause direct health issues on its own. 

However, snoring is a symptom, not a condition. In some cases, it can be the most obvious sign of a potentially serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 

At Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC in Monroe, New Jersey, our primary goal is to help our patients breathe and sleep well. Under the direction of Dr. Andrew R. Freedman, our team offers sleep apnea expertise and home sleep testing services. 

When you suspect you or a loved one has OSA, or when severe snoring disturbs the sleep of others, arrange a consultation to determine the next steps that are right for you. 

Snoring and sleep apnea are not the same thing

You can snore without having OSA, but you can’t have OSA without snoring. It’s possible to snore while still receiving enough air in your lungs. 

When you have sleep apnea, you aren’t receiving enough air, and this forces your body to wake up sufficiently to restore air flow. You may not be awake enough to realize it, but this partial wakening represents an interruption of your sleep cycle. 

OSA also lowers the saturation of oxygen in your bloodstream, a dangerous condition in its own right, as well as a trigger for other potentially harmful conditions. 

The importance of your sleep cycle

Sleep is essential for the repair of your body in various ways, including cognitive function, emotional regulation, and strengthening the immune system. Performing these tasks requires cycling through multiple 90-minute rotations of different sleep depths without interruption. 

When you fail to achieve this, you feel tired and hungry, and it is hard to concentrate throughout the day. As interrupted sleep becomes chronic, you’re at risk of health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 

Home sleep testing

If you suspect sleep apnea, it no longer means spending time away from home for a clinical sleep study. We can set you up with a home test that confirms moderate to severe OSA from the comfort of your own bed. 

Typically, you wear devices that measure airflow, oxygen saturation, and breathing effort. Recording data from these devices after wearing them for a couple of nights provides the necessary data to diagnose or rule out OSA. 

Once diagnosed, we work with you to find the best way to get you back to a full night’s sleep. Contact Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC online or by phone to discuss your next steps with us today.