Snoring Associated With Sleep Apnea May Impair Brain Function More Than Previously Thought

If you haven’t already found out, snoring associated with sleep apnea has been linked to learning impairment, stroke and premature death. Researches from the University of New South Wales have discovered that sleep apnea might impair brain function more than previously thought.

Researchers have found that sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea experience similar changes in brain biochemistry as people who have had a severe stroke or who are dying, the research shows.

“It used to be thought that apneic snoring had absolutely no acute effects on brain function but this is plainly not true,” said lead author of the study, New South Global Professor Caroline Rae.

Sleep apnea affects as many as one in four middle-aged men, with around three percent going on to experience a severe form of the condition characterised by extended pauses in breathing, repetitive asphyxia and sleep fragmentation.

Children with enlarged tonsils and adenoids are also affected, raising concerns of long-term cognitive damage.

“The findings show that lack of oxygen while asleep may be far more detrimental than when awake, possibly because the normal compensatory mechanisms don’t work as well when you are asleep,” Professor Rae, who is based at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, said.

“This is happening in someone with sleep apnea acutely and continually when they are asleep. It’s a completely different biochemical mechanism from anything we’ve seen before and is similar to what you see in somebody who has had a very severe stroke or is dying.”

The findings suggested societal perceptions of snoring needed to change, Professor Rae said. More importantly, Professor Rae highlights a very important point: “People look at people snoring and think it’s funny. That has to stop.”

For the full report: Snoring associated with Sleep Apnea