Sleep apnea is primarily a physical disorder involving breathing interruptions during sleep, often due to airway obstruction, but it has profound and serious mental health consequences, causing or worsening anxiety, depression, irritability, and concentration issues due to oxygen deprivation and disrupted sleep cycles. It's a bidirectional relationship, where sleep apnea's physical effects impact mental well-being, and mental health conditions can also affect sleep, so treating both aspects is crucial.
Sleep apnea is a common but frequently overlooked sleep disorder that not only affects physical health but also takes a significant toll on mental wellness. Beyond fatigue and daytime drowsiness, untreated sleep apnea can contribute to mood changes, anxiety, cognitive struggles, and reduced quality of life.
Sleep apnea is very dangerous if left untreated, significantly raising your risk for serious, life-threatening issues like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, liver problems, and even sudden cardiac death due to repeated drops in blood oxygen levels. It also severely impacts daily life through extreme fatigue, poor concentration, mood changes, and increased accident risk, potentially shortening lifespan by years.
How sleep apnea affects your health
While it is possible for some cases of sleep apnea to improve or even resolve on their own, it is not common. In most cases, sleep apnea is a chronic condition that requires treatment to manage its symptoms and prevent further complications.
A person with OSA has times during sleep in which air cannot flow normally into the lungs. The block in airflow (obstruction) is usually caused by the collapse of the soft tissues in the back of the throat (upper airway) and tongue during sleep.
The AASM continues to recommend scoring hypopneas in adults when there is a ≥ 3% oxygen desaturation from pre-event baseline and/or the event is associated with an arousal.
Conclusions: White matter is extensively affected in OSA patients; the alterations include axons linking major structures within the limbic system, pons, frontal, temporal and parietal cortices, and projections to and from the cerebellum.
Sleeping on your back often worsens apnea, while sleeping on your side may lesson episodes of apnea. When you are lying on your back, your tongue and soft palate tend to fall back to the throat, which can increase breathing difficulties.
Excess Weight
As a person gains weight, the tissue on their throat and chest places more and more pressure on their airway when they lay down to sleep, making stoppages in breathing stemming from sleep apnea more frequent.
Many people with sleep apnea experience loud and regular chronic snoring. Their airway partially collapses during sleep, making it difficult for air to flow smoothly. This results in vibrations in the throat, creating a deep, rumbling sound.
Research has shown that even a small amount of weight loss can open up your throat and improve sleep apnea symptoms. In some cases, losing a significant amount of weight could even cure the condition. However, it's important to remember that everyone is different, and what works for one person may not work for another.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome involves abnormal upper airway sensory input, which may be responsible for the development of apneas and hypopneas. These neurological lesions are persistent despite nasal CPAP treatment.
Sleep apnea, particularly obstructive sleep apnea, is known to affect mental health by causing sleep disturbances. These disturbances can lead to alterations in personality traits.
Sleep difficulties are linked to both physical and emotional problems. Sleep problems can both contribute to or exacerbate mental health conditions and can be a symptom of other mental health conditions. About one-third of adults report insomnia symptoms and 4-22 meet the criteria for insomnia disorder.
According to a collective study by the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, the medications that exacerbate sleep apnea symptoms (and should be avoided if you have the condition) include: Benzodiazepines, including Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, and Ativan. Opiates, including OxyContin, Vicodin, and morphine.
Like many sufferers, Shaq was unaware that he had sleep apnea until his partner told him about his pattern of snoring and gasping for breath. After completing a sleep study and being diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, Shaq was fitted with a CPAP mask to get a better night's rest.
OSA is heritable, and there is evidence of both direct genetic contributions to OSA susceptibility and indirect contributions via 'intermediate' phenotypes such as obesity, craniofacial structure, neurological control of upper airway muscles, and of sleep and circadian rhythm.
The Risks of Untreated Sleep Apnea
Lack of oxygen during sleep interferes with memory formation, blood pressure regulation, and weight control. Untreated apnea is associated with increased risk for dementia, stroke or heart attack.
You wake up enough to take a few breaths, but not enough to remember it the next morning. This cycle repeats itself many times each night, making you feel tired or exhausted in the morning. When you have OSA, the apnea is caused by an obstruction or blockage.
The circulatory and cardiovascular systems
Patients with apnea are more likely to develop an irregular heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation, which may make them susceptible to a stroke. People with sleep apnea are more likely to experience heart failure.
The amount of time that a sleep apnea patient stops breathing can be from 10 seconds to two minutes or more. These breathing "stoppages" can happen a few times per hour or, in more severe cases, 60-100 times per hour or to the point where someone spends more time NOT breathing than they are breathing.
The "3-2-1 bedroom method" isn't one standard thing, but often refers to either sleep hygiene rules (stop food/alcohol 3 hrs before bed, work 2 hrs before, screens 1 hr before) or creative floor plan solutions for small homes, like turning a sunroom into a bedroom or dividing a large room to get more sleeping areas, especially when adding a third bedroom is needed, focusing on clever layouts and dividing spaces efficiently.