Feeling tired still, even after getting a full night’s sleep? Many people still think that it is an effect of a nightmare or a result of overthinking before they go to sleep.
But that was not entirely caused by a nightmare. It is also possible that overthinking played a vital role in that tiredness feeling.
Experiencing a restless night is a sign of a more serious complication. This is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Researchers have now confirmed that OSA is not just affecting your sleeping pattern or disrupting you from getting quality sleep.
It can be that the OSA is directly linked to brain health. Revealing a connection between the OSA and the microbleeds.
Microbleeds are tiny areas of bleeding within the brain that affect the organ’s overall function.
OSA is now confirmed to affect sleep in the short term. But its long-term effects on brain health are dangerous. It can cause brain complications such as mood changes, memory issues, or an increased risk of getting dementia or stroke.
But what does Obstructive Sleep Apnea mean, and why does knowing it matter so much for your health? Let’s find out.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA is an episode where your breathing stops for seconds due to partially or fully blocked airways.
While you are sleeping, about few to a hundred times you will experience episodes of OSA.
These episodes make your brain wake you up so you can restart breathing. Since these episodes happened frequently all of a sudden, chances are that you might not remember them when you wake up.
OSA has common symptoms that you should look out for. Here are the common signs that you or someone else could have already developed OSA:
- Snoring loudly
- Choking or gasping during sleeping hours
- Waking up having a dry mouth
- Waking up having a tired body already
- Characterized in some days as having morning headaches
- Losing focus during daytime
- Frequent sleepiness during the daytime.
OSA is dangerous to your health when it is left untreated. It is associated with many brain and heart-related health risks.
Health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and microbleeds are all developed through the persistence of OSA.
What are these Microbleeds?
Microbleeds are small leaks that are found in your brain. Think of them as small leakages of small blood vessels that are located in your brain.
Although they cannot be observed easily by a special imaging scan, they may expand and affect your brain’s health.
The presence of microbleeds is expected to have connections with vascular problems, high blood pressure, and aging.
Multiple or expanding microbleeds can also lead to different health risks. To name a few, balancing problems, increased dementia or stroke risks, memory loss, and slower thinking.
But the existence of these microbleeds became the subject of new studies about the role of sleep apnea in the lowering of oxygen and spikes in blood pressure.
The next time, be careful about these microbleeds that can affect your entire health.
What Do the New Studies Reveal?
Researchers have examined the brain scan results of people who have or who have no history of sleep apnea.
Recent studies show that patients who have severe cases of OSA tend to have a large number of brain microbleeds. In the same findings, the ever-growing existence of OSA is due to the lower oxygen and higher blood pressure levels.
Due to the decrease in oxygen levels, the body is forced to release cortisol (stress hormone) levels. The lack of oxygen stresses the body, leading to the weakening of blood vessels and their walls, and increasing the presence of microbleeds.
According to Dr. Carvalho, a neurologist who led the study, the presence of microbleeds does not necessarily mean unhealthy brain health. However, it can expand and bring more health complications to you over time.
Why Knowing OSA Matters to Your Health?
Sleep apnea alone provides a sobering review of how your sleep can impact your brain health. However, OSA is focusing on the presence and effects of the microbleeds within your brain.
While it’s not too late (during the early stages of detection), OSA can be reversed to support stronger brain health.
Having sleep apnea can be treated and managed. Here are the treatment options to reduce sleep apnea over time:
- Do some CPAP therapy: This therapy requires a machine that keeps your airway open by gently blowing air through a mask.
- Lifestyle Changes: You can also consider some activity changes in your lifestyle. Among the changes you can make are weight management, alcohol consumption reduction, and slowly quitting smoking to prevent OSA from spreading further.
- Perform Surgery or Insert Dental Services: Use some devices or procedures to ensure an improvement in the reduced blockages and manage the airflow.
Addressing the sleep apnea problems while it’s early is critical to your health. It is not just about quality sleep, but also being conscious of the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, or brain damage.
How to Spot if You Have Sleep Apnea?
Having or positive test for sleep apnea cannot be realized by yourself, especially if you live alone. Sleep apnea is known either through a doctor’s checkup or if people notice you sleeping loudly.
Here are the warning signs to spot if you have sleep apnea:
- Loud snoring that disrupts others’ sleep.
- Sounds of choking or gasping during the night.
- Feeling exhausted for not getting “enough” sleep.
- Having a morning headache or dry mouth when waking up.
- Mood swings, being easily irritated, or having a brain fog experience during the day.
If you happen to have one, some, or all of these symptoms, it is best discussed with your doctor. The doctor runs a certain series of tests to identify whether you have sleep apnea (including its severity levels).
The Connection of Your Brain and Your Sleep
What connects the brain and your sleep is the sufficiency of oxygen needed. Oxygen is vital for balanced blood flow throughout the body.
When the oxygen level decreases, it causes an anomaly in the work of other vital organs. The consistent oxygen deprivation develops long-term negative effects on your brain.
Sleep apnea consistently damages the small vessels found in your brain.
Don’t wait for these microbleeds to become bigger injuries, which may contribute to the decline of cognitive function.
Researchers warn that consistent quality sleep leads to the protection of your brain health.
What to do Now?
Here are some of the steps you can take as preparation for tonight to protect your brain from sleeping disruptions:
- Do some side sleeping.
- Manage your weight.
- Don’t drink alcohol before sleeping.
- Engage in some physical activities to maintain better circulation and improve breathing.
- Sleep at least 7 to 9 hours consistently.
These small habits are essential to reverse the effects of sleep apnea in the early stages.
What Does it Have to Do with Your Sleep Health?
People in the past took body fatigue and snoring lightly. Not knowing its negative consequences on your health.
Aside from diet and exercise, sleep is also an essential need for your body and mind. Don’t let the sleep apnea thrive and slowly destroy your vital organs.
Treating OSA is one way to prevent further development of neurological complications over time. Lifestyle change is what makes microbleeds and poor sleep directly connected with each other.
Doing activities to reverse the effect of OSA also helps them become a younger or better version of themselves.
Be Warned by the OSA Effect
Sleep apnea is not a nightmare. It is more serious and fatal than being a nightmare.
OSA affects your vital organs by disturbing your sleeping time.
If OSA happens to you frequently, it is high time for you to seek medical help.
Adopt healthy habits to make sure that you may protect your health. Always remember that quality sleep can be achieved when you aim to believe that good sleep is beyond than just resting for several hours.