Experts study the effect of sleep apnoea
09/02/2012
Experts have warned of the potential effects to the brain that sleep apnoea can have, as they begin researching the impact of a lack of oxygen during the night.
Sleep apnoea can stop a person breathing whilst asleep, and can happen up to 100 times during a single night. The lack of oxygen is being linked to mild cognitive impairment, and could even cause dementia. They could also contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
This sleep disorder occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the mouth and throat begin to relax during sleep, causing the airways to become blocked. The condition was traditionally associated with men who snore loudly, although recent studies show that this is more of a stereotype, and women have been increasingly studied in relation to the sleep disorder.
A similar study in Taiwan has revealed that sleep apnoea could be linked to the loss of hearing. The researchers found that people who had a significant, inexplicable hearing loss also suffered from sleep apnoea, statistically speaking.
Posted by Elizabeth Mewes
