What exactly is an Apnea?
An apnea is the cessation of breathing while sleeping. With sleep apnea, this cessation in your breathing stops and starts repeatedly during the night. Every time an apnea occurs, your brain and body are not getting oxygen during those repeated breaks in breathing.
Is sleep apnea really a big deal?
Sleep apnea can be a contributing factor in high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, daytime tiredness, headaches, poor concentration, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and loss of libido.
Children suffering from sleep apnea can be misdiagnosed with ADHD and poor performance at school. Untreated sleep apnea impairs the quality of sleep and the amount of oxygen a person gets during rest which can impact the quality of life.
The correct posture for the tongue is up against the palate. One thing many people who have sleep apnea have in common is low tongue posture. If the tongue rests on the floor of the mouth, it is a sign muscles are not functioning properly.
Treatment of sleep apnea may involve a CPAP machine or dental appliances. One way to possibly help some patients with sleep apnea is through myofunctional therapy. The main form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. In obstructive sleep apnea, weak muscles of the tongue and soft palate fall back into the airway. If the muscles are strengthened apnea symptoms can be eased.
Differences between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS)
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA is a sleep breathing disorder that physically obstructs the upper airway and alters breathing.
The tongue, soft palate, extra weight around the neck are examples of what can obstruct the airway.
Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening medical disorder that causes the patient's body to stop breathing during sleep.
As the muscles in the patient's throat relax, the tongue can fall back and block the airway during sleep. When the throat relaxes and the tongue falls back, this reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to all of the organs including the heart and brain.
Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) is a sleep disordered breathing condition similar to obstructive sleep apnea. It involves resistance to breathing in the upper airway.
People who suffer from UARS experience sleep disordered breathing because the muscles and tissues of the upper airway relax at night. When these muscles and tissues relax, the size of the airway is reduced. People who have UARS have a protective reflex to prevent a total blockage of the airway or sleep apnea.
UARS often goes undetected. It does not show up on regular sleep studies. Often only symptoms of OSA are looked for. If left untreated, UARS can evolve into sleep apnea.
Review and Meta-Analysis
Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine’s
Myofunctional therapy provides a reduction in AHI of approximately 50% in adults and 62% in children.
Improvements to daytime sleepiness and snoring.
Shown effective in children and adults of all ages studied thus far
Youngest patient: 3 years old
Oldest patient: 60 years old
An important role in preventing relapse
For further reading...
How can orofacial myofunctional therapy help?
Myofunctional therapy involves exercises that encourage nasal breathing and proper tongue-to-palate placement. With proper breathing and by retraining the muscle functions it is possible to reduce the number and severity apneas (number of breathing stoppages) an individual has during sleep.
Many people who have completed a myofunctional therapy program experience better sleep and feeling more rested after a full night's sleep.
Myofunctional Therapy alone does not treat sleep apnea, but with other OSA treatments, myofunctional therapy can also help manage symptoms.
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