If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea or feel you may have sleep apnea but haven’t been diagnosed, you may be wondering what has caused this condition. You may be questioning whether lifestyle and habits contribute to your sleep disorder, and you may be looking for answers regarding how to stop sleep apnea and get better quality sleep. A sleep wellness expert in Westchester, New York, can help.

Studies have shown that drinking alcohol before bed, even in small amounts, may make sleep apnea worse. Whether you’re an infrequent drinker or a daily drinker, please read on to learn how alcohol intake is linked to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

The focus here will be:

  • Alcohol’s effect on the body
  • Alcohol’s effect on breathing
  • Alcohol’s effect on snoring
  • Alcohol’s effect on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

What Alcohol Does to the Human Body

Alcohol is a depressant, so many people think that it helps them sleep. The opposite is true. Alcohol’s fairly immediate effect is to slow down your brain activity, so you may doze off quickly when you’re ready to go to bed; however, you won’t sleep soundly after drinking. Your body processes alcohol for as many as 14 hours after your last drink. Once the effects begin to wear off early in that processing period, you will toss and turn throughout the night.

Alcohol intake prevents you from getting good quality REM sleep. REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is what the body needs to feel restored and rested. Without good quality REM sleep throughout the night, you’re more likely to have vivid dreams and nightmares, and you’ll likely wake up numerous times throughout the night. Simply put, alcohol may put you to sleep quickly, but the quality of sleep will be poor. You will not feel rested upon waking, and you will likely be hungover if you drank a lot.

A sleep apnea dentist in Westchester, NY, can explain how sleep apnea can be treated.

Alcohol and Breathing

Alcohol intake greatly slows your nighttime breathing because the muscles are extremely relaxed. Lung damage over time is common amongst heavy drinkers because long-term use of alcohol alters the airways over time. This can disrupt the inhalation process, decrease saliva production, and increase the risk of bacteria in the mouth. This all contributes to lung disease and infection.

Alcohol and Snoring

When your airway relaxes so much so that the tissue collapses, snoring is the sound you make when you’re trying to force air through a partially blocked airway. The more you drink, the louder you will snore.

Alcohol and Sleep Apnea

Whereas snoring is the sound created when an airway is partially blocked, obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the airway becomes fully blocked. The sleeping person must choke and gasp for air, which may happen hundreds of times per night for ten seconds or more. Just think of the trauma your body is enduring while you sleep because alcohol has relaxed your muscles so much that you’re struggling to breathe.

Alcohol consumed within an hour of bedtime has been shown to disturb sleep in the second half of the sleep cycle. This leads to fitful sleep, waking up from dreaming, and then finding it difficult to fall back asleep. It’s a frustrating and unhealthy sleep pattern that is sure to make for a difficult day upon waking. Since alcohol impairs the body’s ability to breathe well while sleeping, it increases the likelihood of sleep apnea developing. For those who already have sleep apnea, drinking alcohol will only exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea.

Learn More About Sleep Apnea in Westchester County, New York

It may be time for you to have a sleep study to find out if you have obstructive sleep apnea. If you have been diagnosed with OSA, you will need the help of a Westchester, New York, sleep apnea dentist with experience in helping those who suffer from this serious sleep disorder.

Please call the sleep apnea dentists at Westchester TMJ & Sleep, serving Westchester, NY, and surrounding communities. With the most advanced technology available today, disorders related to snoring and sleep are treated here with great success. With sleep apnea treatment, you can begin to know what it’s like to get good-quality, restful sleep night after night. Please contact Westchester TMJ & Sleep (914) 594-6854, or fill out our online contact form. One of our amazing sleep wellness team members will reach out to answer your questions or schedule a new patient evaluation.