We are all familiar with unwanted thoughts. After all – we are only human. It is normal for unhappy thoughts of doubt and distress to pop up. However, if you notice these thoughts becoming repetitive, uncontrollable, and impacting other areas of your life, you could be dealing with another issue. One factor that can contribute to intrusive thoughts is sleep deprivation. Read on to learn more about unwanted thoughts and how sleep apnea treatment can help to reduce them.
How Does Sleep Apnea Deprivation Affect Unwanted Thoughts?
Unwanted thoughts happen from time to time for pretty much anyone. However, the ability to suppress them can vary greatly between people. There are various factors that can play a role, and we are learning more about them as the years pass.
In a sleep study published by Clinical Psychology Science, it appears that sleep loss has a considerable impact on the ability to keep away unwanted thoughts. The study consisted of a group of 60 healthy individuals who were separated into two groups. The first one was assigned as the sleep group, and the second one was designated as the sleep deprivation group. After a night, the participants were shown photos of faces and asked to try to suppress the associations that the faces provoked. Those who had a significant amount of sleep were more easily able to suppress unwelcome thoughts and reported that if became easier over time. On the other hand, those who were sleep-deprived reported a 50% increase in unwanted thoughts.
How Can Treating Sleep Apnea Improve Your Quality of Sleep?
One of the most common reasons for sleep deprivation is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that causes one to stop breathing multiple times throughout the night. This can result in serious complications, like excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, nightmares, sleep deprivation, loud snoring, and mood changes. Sleep apnea treatments work by preventing these ceases of breathing from occurring throughout the night, allowing for uninterrupted, quality sleep.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
There are multiple treatment methods available for addressing sleep apnea. For mild cases, lifestyles changes, like losing excess weight, getting plenty of exercise, and switching sleeping positions, could be enough to reduce symptoms. For those with severe sleep apnea, a CPAP machine may be necessary. This treatment consists of the patient wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth as they sleep. Air is pushed through the airway to keep it open during sleep. The problem is that many people find CPAP machines uncomfortable, loud, and inconvenient to travel with, so they are less likely to comply with their treatment.
On the other hand, oral appliance therapy is an alternative sleep apnea treatment. This treatment consists of the patient wearing a custom oral appliance in their mouth as they sleep. This helps to shift the jaw forward, preventing the airway from collapsing during sleep.
Unwanted thoughts can negatively impact your emotions. If you have noticed additional unwanted thoughts, you might want to consider being tested for sleep apnea. By receiving treatment, you can get the quality sleep you need to thrive during the day.
About the Author
After completing her dental degree in India, Dr. Khushboo Gandhi moved to the United States and began the Advanced Education program for international dentists at the Oklahoma College of Dentistry. She still takes continuing education classes at Baylor College of Dentistry. Currently, she is a proud member of the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Texas Dental Association, and Spear Education. To learn more about oral appliance therapy or to schedule an appointment at her office in Murphy, visit her website or call (972) 532-6506.