To be at your best every day, you need between seven and a half and nine hours of sleep each night. Sleep apnea, strongly linked to obesity, is one of the biggest obstacles to getting the proper amount of restorative, non-REM stage II and stage III sleep.
When you carry extra weight, especially in your torso and around your neck, your respiratory function is compromised. Fatty deposits around your airway can obstruct your breathing. You experience sleep disordered breathing, which can include:
• loud snoring
• pauses in your breathing during sleep
• abrupt awakenings with shortness of breath or gasping
• choking that wakes you up
During the day, you may find
• headache each morning
• dry mouth or sore throat
• excessive sleepiness during the day
• problems focusing
• problems with decision-making and other executive functions
• mood swings and irritability
Long term complications of sleep apnea include diabetes, as sleeping properly for less than 4 hours a night causes dangerous drops in your ability to process glucose (sugar) and requires your body to produce 30% more insulin than a normal sleeper. Sleep apnea is also linked to atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, heart attacks and sudden death.
When you are overweight or obese, your risk of sleep apnea is four times higher than if you were of normal weight.
At Metropolitan Gastroenterology Consultants, we can dramatically lower your risk of sleep apnea and all its complications by dramatically reducing your weight. When your BMI is between 30 and 40, about 50 to 100 pounds over your healthy weight range, non-surgical and temporary Orbera can be the right choice for your weight loss struggle. Within six months, your weight - and your risk of sleep apnea - can be substantially reduced.
During August, Dr. Gaston, the only gastroenterologist in Chicagoland performing this procedure, is offering no-cost personal consultations. Financing is also available. Book online to make an appointment, or call.
Improving your sleep patterns will not only improve your health by reducing your risk of diabetes, heart attack and atrial fibrillation, but will improve your life, through better focus, less drowsiness, a more positive attitude and more energy.
