New Year, New You: Sleep Better

Resolve to sleep better

If you’re feeling run ragged after the holiday season, you’re not alone. Holiday stress often leads to decreased sleep in the short-term. You may just need to reset your sleep schedule to improve your sleep health in the new year, and you can start by:

• Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day
• Going through the same routine each night before bed
• Making your bedroom a comfortable, relaxing place to be
• Reducing screen time prior to bedtime
• Not going to bed hungry or too full
• Limiting daytime naps
• Getting regular physical activity
• Managing stress

But, if you’re among the millions of Americans who regularly don’t get the suggested 7.5 hours of sleep at night, and resetting your sleep schedule doesn’t seem to work, you could be suffering from a sleep disorder.

How sleepy are you?

The first step in assessing your likelihood of a sleep disorder can be to determine your level of daytime sleepiness. Some common signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnea are feeling exhausted during the day, a high likelihood of falling asleep during normal daytime activities and requiring caffeine to stay awake on a regular basis. Consider how likely you would be to doze or fall asleep during each of these activities on a typical day:

• Reading
• Watching TV
• Being a passenger in a car for an hour or more
• Being stopped in traffic
• Lying down in the afternoon
• Sitting inactive in a public place
• Sitting and talking to someone
• Sitting quietly after lunch

If you would have a moderate to high chance of falling asleep during several of these activities, take the full Epworth Sleepiness Test here. Other common risk factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea include frequent snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep, being overweight, and suffering from high blood pressure, stroke and/or heart disease.

Our sleep disorder dentists can improve your sleep health

If you exhibit several risk factors for sleep disorders, we can further assess your sleep health with our take-home sleep test, worn in the comfort of your own bed. Based on the results, we will work with your physician to determine the best course of action to improve your sleep health and your overall health. Our oral appliance therapy can maintain an open airway, improving sleep health dramatically, and is a recommended solution for patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea, or when CPAP treatment isn’t an option. Call us at Caffaratti Dental Group today at (775) 358-1555 to schedule a consultation and get on the road to better sleep.