By: Robert C. Rawdin, D.D.S., F.A.C.P.
Is your partner’s loud snoring or the tossing and turning keeping you awake? It might be time for a sleep divorce.
What Is A Sleep Divorce?
Sleep divorce is the new modern solution for couples that love each other but dread bedtime together. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 12 percent of married couples opt to sleep in separate beds or even bedrooms to get the quality Zzz’s they need.
Couples claim this strengthens relationships, which takes a hit when neither partner gets the 7-hours of shut-eye recommended by the Center For Disease Control. A 2013 study found that one partner getting a poor night’s sleep due to the other’s nighttime disturbances, usually results in conflicts the next day.
Even more serious are the health issues that can develop due to lack of sleep, some of them life threatening. So before you move into the next bedroom, closely examine what’s keeping you both up at night. It might be a problem that requires diagnosis and treatment.
What Is the Leading Cause Of Sleep Divorce?
”Experts say snoring is one of the leading causes of sleep divorce. One partner struggles to sleep through the cranks and crackles of their noisy partner, while the other sleeps blissfully in oblivion.” If you can’t stand being in the same bed as your partner because of their snoring, consider that it might be the sign of an underlying sleep disorder.
Sleep Apnea, by far, is the most common sleep disorder, characterized by loud chronic snoring. Although the snoring in itself is difficult to live with, if your partner is suffering from Sleep Apnea, their health and well-being might be in jeopardy. With the proper diagnosis and treatment, it can be treated.
Sleep Apnea – Diagnosis and Treatment
Sleep Apnea’s long list of symptoms and risks, some of which are life threatening, should be paid close attention to. It WILL cause high blood pressure, type 2 Diabetes, cardiac arrhythmias, daytime sleepiness, as well as an increased chance of accidents, mood swings and depression, erectile dysfunction, and greater chance of heart attack, stroke and sudden death! So treating the Sleep Apnea does way more than just eliminate the snoring.
A CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) is an effective way to treat snoring/sleep apnea. However, the compliance with CPAP is only about 50%. The use of oral appliance therapy for treating sleep apnea has become much more common and accepted by physicians. The oral appliances hold the lower jaw in a forward position, essentially holding the airway open while you are sleeping. The compliance with oral appliances is very high and it is usually covered by medical insurance.
If you have any symptoms or suspect you or your partner has Sleep Apnea, you must talk with your doctor (or sleep savvy dentist) and find out if you should have a sleep test; a sleep test is the only way to diagnose Sleep Apnea. Unlike in the past, where patients had to spend the night at a sleep-testing center, newer tests can be done in your own home with a small electronic device. Gallery57Dental’s sleep coordinator can arrange for the home test, help coordinate medical insurance benefits and guide your through the whole process.
So, if you are considering a sleep divorce, or already sleep in separate bedrooms, make sure you are taking your or your partner’s health very seriously. If someone has Sleep Apnea and they are successfully treated they will feel better, look better and live longer!
Call 212.246.8700 to find out more information or click here to schedule an appointment with Gallery57Dental. Follow Gallery 57 Dental on Facebook here!
