4 Questions to Ask Your Sleep Doctor in Wausau, WI

You may want to talk to a healthcare provider if you have severe or ongoing sleep issues that affect your daily activities or mood. Some indicators that it might be time to consult a doctor about your sleep issues include:

– Loud snoring, gasping or choking while you’re asleep.
– Sleepwalking, nightmares, or other unsettling sleep patterns.
– Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep for several weeks or more.
– Excessive drowsiness or fatigue during the day, despite getting a sufficient amount of sleep.
– Anxiety, depression, or persistent pain that is keeping you up at night.
– Frequent nighttime awakenings, or awakening with a headache, sore throat, or dry mouth.
– Any additional symptoms that are affecting your daily functioning or quality of life.

Sleep disorders affect your sleep quality and prevent you from getting a restful sleep. The following may indicate a sleep disorder:

– You frequently have trouble falling asleep.
– Even though you slept for at least 7 hours the night before, you are exhausted during the day.
– Your ability to carry out typical daytime activities has been diminished or impaired.

Over 100 million American adults do not get enough sleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial to a productive day and a healthy lifestyle. Lack of sleep can have negative effects on academic and professional performance, interpersonal interactions, health, and safety, so it is important to get treatment.

A sudden onset of insomnia is not uncommon. Sudden insomnia falls under the category of acute insomnia, which is characterized by its rapid onset and brief duration. A single cause cannot account for all cases of unexpected insomnia. Environment, genetics, health, stress, way of life, and other elements can all play a role. Some of the common causes of sudden insomnia include:

– Sleep disorders – Disorders such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and circadian rhythm disorders can cause sudden insomnia.

– Lifestyle factors – Lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, sleep schedule, stress levels and exercise habits can all contribute to sleep problems.

– Hormonal changes – Sleep problems can result from changes in hormone levels brought on by thyroid and other hormone-secreting organ disorders or by events such as andropause, menopause and pregnancy.

– Mental health – Sudden insomnia may be brought on by anxiety from a short-term stressor, such as a job loss or moving homes. Chronic mental health conditions like depression can also trigger sudden insomnia.

– Sleep environment – Insomnia can be onset by loud noises, uncomfortable beds, hot rooms, or new sleeping arrangements. A sudden modification to a person’s sleeping environment can also result in sudden insomnia.

Your physician will advise lifestyle changes, like quitting smoking or losing weight, for milder cases of sleep apnea. Several treatments options are available if lifestyle changes don’t help your symptoms or if your apnea is moderate to severe, such as:

– Supplemental oxygen – If you have sleep apnea, using additional oxygen while you sleep can be beneficial. Various devices can be used to deliver oxygen to your lungs during night-time.

– Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine – This device delivers air pressure through a mask while you sleep and is highly effective if you have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. The air pressure provided by the CPAP machine is slightly higher than that of the room. The CPAP pressure is just enough to keep the upper airway passages open to prevent apnea and snoring.

– Oral devices – Sleep apnea can be prevented by wearing an oral appliance made to keep your throat open while you sleep. Oral devices are made to help you open your throat by moving your jaw forward, which helps with mild obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.

– Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) – This more recently approved airflow device learns your typical breathing pattern and stores the data in an integrated computer. The device uses pressure to control your breathing pattern after you fall asleep to avoid breathing pauses. Those with treatment-emergent central sleep apnea are often good candidates for ASV.

Come to Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders for comprehensive treatment. Call us for more information or book an appointment online. We serve patients from Wausau WI, Schofield WI, Weston WI, Rothschild WI, Brokaw WI, and surrounding areas.