Having problems sleeping? It could be caused by what you eat!

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA found that eating a diet with lots of  fatty foods can diminish the quality of your sleep (and make you gain weight). Of course, being overweight also increases your risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea, and their bed partners, never get restful sleep.

The Minnesota study fed rats a special fatty-food diet for 8 weeks and then watched their sleep patterns. They found that the rats who ate the high fat diet slept more than rats who ate healthier and, most of this additional sleep was during the daytime. The fatty rats also showed more fragmented sleep, meaning they didn’t get the deep, restful sleep needed to maintain health.

When humans suffer from obstructive sleep apnea they also experience fragmented sleep. During sleep the soft tissues of the mouth and throat relax and drop into the throat, blocking the windpipe and stopping breathing. As the body becomes low on oxygen the sleeper briefly wakens with a gasp and begins breathing again. These stoppages of breath  occur many, many times each hour throughout the night. The sleeper wakens the next morning feeling exhausted and because of the stress on their body their risk of heart attack, stroke and early death is greatly increased.

So watch your diet, cut out the double bacon cheeseburgers, and contact Columbus sleep apnea dentist Dr. Mark Levy  at 614-476-6696 to schedule an appointment to find out how oral appliance therapy can keep you breathing all night long. No more snoring and no more gasping for air during sleep. You’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel.