If you’ve started sleep apnea treatment and still feel tired, you’re not alone. Many patients expect to wake up feeling completely refreshed right away, but recovery takes time. Your body and brain need a chance to adjust to consistent, healthy sleep again. With a bit of patience and the right habits, you can move from constant fatigue to sustained focus and energy. Read on to learn more.
The holiday season is often described as the most wonderful time of the year. But for people with sleep apnea or temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), the holidays can also bring unique challenges. Stress, schedule disruptions, and different routines can all make symptoms worse, leaving you more exhausted and less able to enjoy the season. At Center for TMJ & Sleep Solutions NW, we see this every year, and we’re here to help! Understanding how stress affects you is the first step toward managing your condition effectively so you can focus on what matters most: time with loved ones.
For many patients, managing sleep apnea is already a nightly challenge. When seasonal or environmental allergies enter the picture, breathing problems can become even more difficult. Allergies don’t just affect your nose during the day; they can also play a big role in how well you breathe and sleep at night. Keep reading to learn more.
TMD affects millions of adults, often causing painful symptoms that decrease quality of life. People living with TMD have difficulty eating and sleeping, they may miss work because of migraines or other debilitating pain, and their mental health can suffer as well. Thankfully, there are treatments for TMD that relieve the pain and restore jaw function. At Center for TMJ and Sleep Solutions NW, we offer a number of non-surgical TMD treatment options for our patients.
Navigating cold and flu season with sleep apnea can be tricky. Whether you’re sick yourself or tending to a sick partner or child, sleep disruptions are a real risk in the fall and winter. We have some tips to help you and your family get through this season without compromising your health. Keep reading to learn more.
Patients with a TMJ disorder understand that staying pain free is a balancing act between good oral health and lifestyle choices. Losing a tooth when you have TMD can throw off that balance and complicate treatment. That is why we always recommend patients replace missing teeth right away to prevent treatment setbacks. For anyone who hasn’t yet begun TMJ treatment, replacing missing teeth is equally important to their oral and overall health.
When we prescribe sleep apnea or TMD treatment, the goal is to get you feeling better and improve your overall health. Sometimes, when treatment is going well, a patient may become less disciplined about their treatment protocol because, in their mind, since they’re feeling better, they don’t need to be as strict anymore. Have you ever done that? If so, please be aware that it’s a mistake. Not sticking to your prescribed TMD or sleep apnea treatment can lead to escalating and potentially severe health consequences.
Good sleep is often the missing link in a person’s healthcare routine. We tend to emphasize diet and exercise, but sleep rarely gets the attention it deserves. As sleep doctors, we understand the importance of consistent, quality rest and its effects on the human body. When a patient isn’t sleeping well because of obstructive sleep apnea or simply neglecting to prioritize sleep in their life, it opens the door to a host of health problems, and excess weight is one of them.
You may already know what a relief it is to be diagnosed with TMD when you’ve been suffering with painful symptoms for years, having found no satisfying answers and likely being misdiagnosed, sometimes repeatedly. But what are the next steps? Because TMD looks and feels different for every patient, treatment does as well. However, there are three general stages you can expect in your treatment plan.
Sleep should be the time your body rests and recovers. But if you have sleep apnea, your body is working overtime just to keep breathing, and that can take a serious toll on your heart. At Center for TMJ & Sleep Solutions NW, we often see patients who are shocked to learn how closely sleep apnea is tied to heart problems. If you’ve been putting off getting checked, here’s why it’s worth paying attention to.
