Okemos, Lansing, East Lansing MI
Getting enough sleep is an essential aspect of your overall quality of life. Unfortunately, sometimes sleeping can be challenging with a partner who snores, gasps for air, or illustrates other disturbing nighttime behavior. In many of those cases, couples agree on a sleep divorce and establish individual sleeping arrangements, which could include different sleep times, separate beds, or different rooms. But, how can you keep your relationship strong or avoid a sleep divorce altogether? Our Okemos obstructive sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Christine Tenaglia, helps answer these questions and offers tips on avoiding sleep divorce in your relationship.
Understand the Impact of Disturbed Sleep
Snoring is often an indication of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). If you snore, you’re not only disrupting your sleep, but your partner’s as well. Unfortunately, sleep loss often makes people irritable feel resentful, and can cause complex relationship problems. Furthermore, our Lansing dentist that treats sleep apnea explains that the condition can lead to increased health risks like hypertension, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Therefore, if you or your partner snores, contact our office for a sleep apnea consultation and treatment.
Be Open and Understanding
Sleeping in separate beds can cause conflict within a relationship when not approached wisely. Therefore, our sleep apnea dentist in East Lansing recommends keeping an open mind and understanding the goal is to get better sleep. First, explain that the sleeping arrangement idea is meant to improve both parties’ sleep quality. Then, speak with your partner about new sleeping arrangements and be willing to compromise. For example, one compromise could be that the situation is temporary, but the afflicting person must seek treatment for their condition.
Seek Treatment for Sleep Disruption Conditions
Showing your sleep partner that you’re willing to seek treatment for your condition speaks volumes. Once you decide to take action, contact our Okemos dentist’s office to schedule an airway evaluation. Dr. Tenaglia may recommend an official sleep study to determine if you have sleep apnea and its severity. Using the data from the sleep study, we can create a customized treatment plan to reduce your snoring, improve your airway blockage, and help you and your partner get a better night’s sleep.
How is sleep apnea treated?
Dr. Tenaglia prefers to treat mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy or OAT, which is a custom device that looks like a mouthguard. Oral appliance therapy is much preferred over using a CPAP because CPAP machines are noisy, difficult to keep clean, and users often complain that the masks are uncomfortable. Dr. Tenaglia has helped many patients stop snoring by using oral appliance therapy.
Alternative Sleep Apnea Treatment in Okemos, Lansing, and East Lansing, MI
If you and your partner are on the verge of an undesired sleep divorce because of snoring, it’s time to seek treatment to stop snoring. Contact our Okemos sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Christine Tenaglia of Tenaglia Smiles, to learn how sleep apnea treatments like oral appliance therapy can improve your sleep and your relationship. Please call our office at (517) 347-6733 or contact us online to schedule a consultation today!