Are you one of the countless people who’s always attempting to lose \u201cthose last 10 pounds?\u201d If so, you\u2019ve probably tried all the usual things: eating less and moving more, adding more protein to your diet and eating lots of veggies. So, what gives? It\u2019s one thing if you can\u2019t lose weight because you\u2019re not doing the right things, but it\u2019s especially frustrating when the scale won\u2019t budge even after you\u2019ve put the effort in. If you can relate to this, there may be one thing you haven\u2019t thought of – sleep apnea. It\u2019s estimated that 22 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, with 80% of them being undiagnosed! If you\u2019d like to know more about this sneaky risk factor for weight gain, keep reading to learn more about what researchers are saying.<\/p>\n
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Sleep apnea occurs when the airway continually becomes obstructed while sleeping, preventing proper airflow and breathing.<\/p>\n
It may sound obvious, but it can be difficult to know if you have OSA because many of the symptoms occur overnight while you\u2019re sleeping.<\/p>\n
Here are a few of the signs you might notice if you suffer from this condition:<\/p>\n
When it comes to the link between OSA and weight gain, it\u2019s a classic question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? While researchers haven\u2019t come to any definitive conclusions, they suspect that obesity and OSA are actually a vicious cycle where one contributes to the other.<\/p>\n
For example, obesity can initially contribute to sleep apnea because fat deposits in the neck can cause airways to become obstructed.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if a person of normal weight develops the condition it can lead to weight gain by producing changes in hormones, appetite and energy levels.<\/p>\n
One of the best ways to confirm whether you have OSA or not is to schedule a consultation with a dentist who has received advanced training in sleep apnea. This way you can be evaluated and possibly referred for a sleep study that can test your breathing while you sleep.<\/p>\n
Your dentist can also discuss your options for an oral appliance<\/a> that can potentially offer relief from this condition without using a CPAP machine. This device can help you breathe better and may make it easier for you to lose weight. Your dentist can help you determine which treatment is best for you.<\/p>\n Knowledge is power! And in this case, it can help you seek out treatment that can not only improve the quality of your sleep, but your life as well.<\/p>\n Dr. J. Peter St. Clair is dedicated to providing comprehensive dental care that will help his patients have their best life. By pursuing advanced education in specialty areas of dentistry, including dental sleep medicine, he hopes to provide the \u201cmissing link\u201d between oral health and sleep quality. If you have further questions about sleep apnea, he can be reached through his website<\/a> or at (978) 948-2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you one of the countless people who’s always attempting to lose \u201cthose last 10 pounds?\u201d If so, you\u2019ve probably tried all the usual things: eating less and moving more, adding more protein to your diet and eating lots of veggies. So, what gives? It\u2019s one thing if you can\u2019t lose weight because you\u2019re not doing the right things, but it\u2019s especially frustrating when the scale won\u2019t budge even after you\u2019ve put the effort in. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}About the Author<\/h2>\n