{"id":770,"date":"2022-09-04T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pittsburghissmiling.com\/blog\/?p=770"},"modified":"2022-10-18T17:37:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T17:37:13","slug":"the-curious-connection-between-anxiety-and-sleep-apnea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pittsburghissmiling.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/04\/the-curious-connection-between-anxiety-and-sleep-apnea\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curious Connection Between Anxiety and Sleep Apnea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you wake up feeling groggy and unrested most mornings, there\u2019s a chance you could be suffering from sleep apnea! This condition affects millions of patients, and unfortunately, its cause isn\u2019t always easily discernable as there are often many different factors at work. However, one known contributing factor is anxiety; sure enough, feeling stressed, anxious, or tense at night can physically prevent your body from getting the rest it needs. Here\u2019s more from your dentist<\/a> about the link between sleep apnea and anxiety, along with some tips to help you get back to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Breaking Down Sleep Apnea and Anxiety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To understand the connection between these two conditions, it\u2019s important to distinguish how each one affects your body. Sleep apnea is a disorder that\u2019s characterized by your breathing repeatedly starting and stopping during sleep. It might be widespread and sound somewhat harmless, but if left untreated this condition can lead to some pretty serious consequences including stress, fatigue, hypertension, and even heart disease and diabetes. Anxiety disorders, on the other hand, are often the result of your body responding to stress or some other type of trigger. Feeling anxious while in a stressful environment is a normal response; but if you\u2019re continually feeling down, worried, or stressed out on a regular basis, it can make daily life\u2014as well as falling asleep\u2014quite challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Anxiety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If these two conditions sound related, they do share some similarities and are loosely linked. In fact, one very common side effect of both sleep apnea and anxiety is insomnia, or the inability to fall\/stay asleep. However, when trying to trace which condition is the root source of your sleeping problems, you might encounter a chicken-or-the-egg type of scenario: \u201cIs anxiety causing your sleep apnea, or is sleep apnea contributing towards your anxiety?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a sleep apnea episode, the brain receives a panic signal, which then causes the body to jolt awake to normalize breathing. But suddenly waking up like this over and over again causes you to accumulate \u201csleep debt\u201d which is then compounded with each passing night that your sleep apnea causes sleep disruption. This sleep deficit makes it more difficult for your brain to cope with stress, and it can also alter the neurochemicals within it that help to regulate how you feel throughout the day. Over time, this can also lead to hypertension (elevated blood pressure) that causes physiological health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for Getting a Better Night\u2019s Sleep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, both of these conditions have manageable symptoms and treatment is possible. Here are some tips to help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n