Sleep Apnea and Its Consequences

He snores. Do you give him a nudge so that he rolls over and quits snoring?

She snorts with her snores. Do you shake her shoulder a bit and ask her to wake up? Then you can tell her she’s keeping you awake with her snoring and snorting.

Memories of my dad and snoring

I remember when my dad would snore on the couch. He must be sleeping. Shhh. Quietly, either my brother or I would sneak up to the TV to turn the channel to something better. At that time, dad would say, "I'm awake, now turn it back to where I had it."

We would even test him with questions. He remembered everything about the TV show, including the parts that he would snore through. In those days, we had 2 TV channels. We were young but learned that we couldn't get by with that anymore. LOL.

I have often wondered if he had sleep apnea. Looking back, it did seem to appear that he did stop breathing in his sleep. In those days, we had never heard of sleep apnea.

Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea

Is snorting a symptom? I’m not sure but don’t think so. Many of those who have sleep apnea wake up snoring, sometimes gasping for air. That sounds severe, doesn't it? Often though, no one seems to think that this is a health issue.

Did you know that sleep apnea can affect you more than just when you are sleeping? Sleep apnea has been linked to stroke, high blood pressure, and even obesity. It can make it more difficult to function, because of fatigue. Someone with sleep apnea can find it too difficult to drive and could possibly cause a car accident. And even though the brain wakes us to take a breath when we stop breathing, for some, there is a risk of death.¹

Types of sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of apnea. This is where the upper airway is blocked and it causes a person to frequently wake up.

Central sleep apnea is less common. Here, the airway is open. However, the brain doesn’t send a signal to breathe. Those with advanced heart disease or neurological disorders are known to have their breathing affected.¹

Does sleep apnea have a link to Alzheimer's?

Some people who stop breathing when they are sleeping might have a higher amount of a toxic protein, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's. This protein can build up in the part of the brain that manages memory, navigation, and perception of time.²

Research has supported an association between dementia and sleep disruption, a link that's particularly true for obstructive sleep apnea. But it's not clear what could be causing this.² This is where a CPAP could make a big difference because it pushes air into your airway to open it up so you can breathe.

“But it's a chicken and egg problem,” says Diego Z. Carvalho, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic, pointing to questions of "which comes first" as an underlying cause. Does sleep apnea cause an accumulation of the toxic protein tau that forms tangles in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease? Or does the accumulation of tau cause sleep apnea?²

More research is needed

Study limitations included a lack of sleep studies that could confirm sleep apnea and its severity, as well as a lack of information about participants' sleep apnea treatment.²