Biffster’s WeightJournal.com

There is a new, alarming (to me) study that suggests a link between Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea:

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention has warned that recent research demonstrates that type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are closely related…

The study is quick to point out that this is very preliminary, and requires a lot more testing and study. Of course, they easy link between the two is obesity: People who are over weight are prone to OSA, and those who eat enough sugar-rich foods to become over weight are on the track towards type 2 diabetes. I am assuming this study takes this into fact, but it is always dangerous to make assumptions.

The study also makes screening suggestions:

While people with OSA should be routinely screened for metabolic disease and type 2 diabetes as screening tests are inexpensive and easy to conduct, people with diabetes should be screened for OSA particularly when they present classical symptoms such as witnessed apneas, heavy snoring or daytime sleepiness and poor workplace performance.

I think that this is very responsible. And is directed right at medical insurance companies. Insurance companies are normally fast to pay for diabetes screening/treatment. But OSA is another matter. Sleep studies are expensive, as are CPAP machines and supplies. This study says up front that the insurance companies really should pay for these to avoid further complications. I think that is a very responsible tack to take.

As for me, I’m in trouble. I most definitely have OSA, and it went untreated for a long time. I am also pre-diabetic. The combination of the two could lead to big health problems in my future.

Now, I don’t know why this surprises me as much as it does. After all, sleep apnea leads to a whole lot of medical issues. Heart problems, lung problems, high blood pressure…. sleep apnea is Bad Stuff. But I am totally and completely freaked out to find out that sleep apnea can lead to brain damage:

‘The findings make it all the more imperative that OSA be treated as soon as possible to prevent further injury,’ said Harper. ‘The long-term effects of OSA are terribly damaging to memory and thinking processes. Moreover, control of blood pressure is heavily impacted by the breathing condition, and if multiple areas, each connected with one another, are affected, regulation of blood pressure will be all the more difficult if OSA continues.’ (via Medical News Today)

All I can say is: HOLY CRAP!!!

There’s no surprise here, but SLEEP has published another study linking obstructive sleep apnea with cardiovascular disease (via medicalnewstoday.com):

“There is abundant physiologic evidence implicating OSA in perpetuating, if not inticing, heart failure. In addition to their association with systemic hypertension, OSA-related stressors, including hypoxemia, increased sympathetic drive, acute surges in blood pressure, and mechanical effects of intrathoracic pressure swings, have varying effects on myocardial oxygen supply and demand, particularly in the already compromised heart,”

All I can say is: HOLY SHIT! It’s not like I’m not headed towards major cardiovascular problems as it is, because of my weight and lifestyle. But my battle with sleep apnea is going to make things worse? That’s some bad, bad news!

Well, now, this is an interesting study. Scientists have determined that sleep deprivation affects moral judgment:

Research has shown that bad sleep can adversely affect a person’s physical health and emotional well-being. However, the amount of sleep one gets can also influence his or her decision-making. A study published in the March 1st issue of the journal SLEEP finds that sleep deprivation impairs the ability to integrate emotion and cognition to guide moral judgments.

So the crux of the study is that it takes longer for someone who is sleep deprived to make a moral judgment. Which could theoretically mean that someone would start doing something, then later realize that it is not something they would normally do. Or something like that. It’s a little bit ambiguous. But it is definitely relevant for those of us who have sleep apnea. And is yet another reason to make sure that one has their apnea diagnosed and treated.

Those of us with sleep apnea are used to living life just a bit differently from everyone else. We have to choose between being like everyone else during the day, or during the night. To be able to sleep “normally,” we have to not use our CPAP machines. But then the next day we are tired to the point of exhaustion, and don’t get to enjoy the world like everyone else. If we want to be awake, alert and coherent during the day, then we need to sleep hooked up to a CPAP machine. Which is fine if we sleep alone, but definitely makes things different when we sleep with someone else.

All in all, though, the benefits of sleeping with the CPAP machine outweight everything else. That’s why I do it, and that’s why millions of others make that same choice. Aside from the benefits of being awake the next day, using a CPAP mask has been proven to provide a number of health benefits for those of us with sleep apnea.

I actually am getting to a point here, Dear Readers. MedicalNewsToday.com has an article regarding a study which indicates that using a CPAP mask actually decreases blood pressure for those of us who have obstructive sleep apnea!

Patients with the nighttime breathing disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea who receive air through a mask while they sleep can significantly reduce their blood pressure, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 22nd.

Sleeping with the CPAP mask can be a pain.  It can be frustrating sometimes to not be able to just lay down somewhere and go to sleep. But there are so many beneifts to sleeping with the mask that it doesn’t make sense not to. If you have sleep apnea, use your CPAP machine. If you think you might have sleep apnea but haven’t been diagnosed, talk to your physician about it.

Wow, imagine that. There is an actual, documented medical condition which explains why I can’t take naps. Well, I can take a nap, but when I wake up I feel even more tired than I did before napping. I feel like I can’t think clearly, and I feel very clumsy. It’s a horrible feeling, bad enough that I almost never take naps – even when I really need some extra sleep.

Turns out, this is a fairly-well-known phenomenon known as Sleep Inertia. Per Psychcentral.com: “Sleep inertia is a physiological state characterised by a decline in motor dexterity and a subjective feeling of grogginess, immediately following an abrupt awakening from deep sleep. Typically, sleep inertia lasts between 1 and 30 minutes.”

I guess I had always assumed this was due to my sleep apnea. Though I feel like crap after a nap even if I hook myself up to the CPAP machine, so I guess I should’ve realized it wasn’t that.

I swear… maybe Dao is trying to tell me that I shouldn’t sleep! That means more time for video games. [grin]