Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that millions of Americans suffer from. Unfortunately, most cases go undiagnosed, leaving millions of people getting a bad night of sleep and enduring terrible symptoms during the day. Research shows that sleep apnea symptoms can even result in depression.

On the other hand, anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress. As a result, anxiety can cause insomnia and disputed sleep. So are anxiety and sleep apnea related? Find out below!

Can Sleep Apnea Contribute to Anxiety?

When the body experiences an apnea episode, the brain receives a panic signal to awaken the body to resume breathing. Unfortunately, this prevents the person from getting a peaceful and uninterrupted night of sleep. Eventually, this results in a sleep debt, which causes the brain to struggle to cope with stress. When a person experiences bad sleep over and over, their brain’s neurochemicals change and alter their mood and thinking pattern. This can affect the body’s ability to heal and recover and affect heart health and blood pressure which can result in other physiological health problems.

Apnea can cause the body to experience sweating, restlessness, fatigue, inability to concentrate, panic, rapid breathing, chest pain, hyperventilation, feeling of suffocation and more. These symptoms indicate anxiety which can be caused by apnea. If a patient already has an anxiety disorder, sleep apnea can aggravate it even more.

Can Anxiety Contribute to Sleep Apnea?

Although it’s clear that sleep apnea can contribute to anxiety and panic disorders, it’s also known that anxiety can cause insomnia and an unrestful night of sleep. Restless sleep can aggravate sleep apnea and negatively impact your sleep even more. The real question is, what do you treat first? Sleep apnea or anxiety?

Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea and Anxiety

Since anxiety and sleep apnea aggravate each other, the best way to break their endless cycle is by treating both, but addressing sleep apnea first. Once a patient starts sleeping better at night, it can reduce their anxiety. If their anxiety is severe to begin with, it might make the most sense to treat the anxiety at the same time and then reduce the anxiety treatment after the sleep apnea treatment begins working.

To treat your sleep apnea, you can start by visiting the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center in Omaha for a sleep apnea evaluation. If you haven’t been diagnosed yet, we can coodinate a diagnostic sleep test for you. Once you have a proper diagnosis, we can help you choose the right oral appliance to treat your sleep apnea. With sleep apnea treatment and anxiety treatment working side by side, you’re bound to feel much better soon.

Call us at (402) 493-4175 today to schedule a sleep apnea new patient appointment with one of our sleep dentists at Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center. We look forward to helping you sleep better and experience less anxiety.