Around 10 million Brits are thought to be affected
Medical professionals are warning that three tell-tale signs upon waking could signal an elevated risk of dementia. A widespread sleep disorder, believed to impact 10 million people across Britain, can briefly starve the brain of vital oxygen.
This, experts say, can potentially trigger cognitive deterioration. Research published in the Nature Communications journal during 2022 established a connection between obstructive sleep apnoea and heightened dementia risk. Scientists from Australia’s University of Queensland discovered a direct causal link between reduced brain oxygen levels during sleep and neurodegenerative conditions.
Lead researcher Professor Elizabeth Coulson said: “We found sleep deprivation alone in mice caused only mild cognitive impairment. But we developed a novel way to induce sleep-disrupted breathing and found the mice displayed exacerbated pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease.”
She continued: “It demonstrated that hypoxia, when the brain is deprived of oxygen, caused the same selective degeneration of neurons that characteristically die in dementia.”
Nevertheless, the research stopped short of establishing how different levels of oxygen deprivation influence disease development risk. Human trials were scheduled to begin in order to investigate the link between oxygen deprivation and cognitive decline, reports Surrey Live.
Professor Coulson explained: “It’s estimated around 50 percent of elderly people have obstructive sleep apnoea when their throat muscles intermittently collapse and block the airway during sleep causing their breathing to stop and start.”
The Sleep Apnoea Trust reports that up to 10 million people across the UK are affected by the most prevalent form of the condition, known as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) – with as many as four million experiencing severe or moderate symptoms. Many instances of sleep apnoea remain undetected and without treatment because the clearest warning indicators happen whilst asleep.
The most typical symptoms include regular snoring, struggling for breath, and silent pauses in breathing that can persist from seconds to minutes. Yet other more noticeable indicators may appear upon “waking up”.
WebMD lists these as:
- waking up with a very sore or dry throat
- morning headaches
- dizziness when you wake up
The NHS defines sleep apnoea as a disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and restarts throughout sleep. Whilst individual episodes of sleep apnoea are unlikely to result in significant damage, failing to address the condition can trigger more severe complications.
Professor Coulson emphasised that not all individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea will subsequently develop dementia. “Some dementia clinicians have reported their patient’s memory has improved after their sleep problems were identified and treated,” she noted.
Currently, the most effective remedy for obstructive sleep apnoea is a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP). This device works by ensuring the airway remains open during sleep, facilitating oxygen flow to the brain.
Researchers are optimistic that this equipment could potentially lower dementia risk in patients with sleep apnoea. “We couldn’t fit CPAP to mice, but we experimentally prevented the hypoxia and this stopped the cognitive impairment and neuron death, and also reduced the Alzheimer’s pathology,” stated Professor Coulson.
“This suggests that CPAP treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea has the potential to reduce dementia risk.”
Sleep apnoea is also associated with other health complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. This is because sleep apnoea causes a drop in blood oxygen levels when breathing stops, leading to increased pressure within the blood vessels.
The NHS advises contacting your GP if you experience any of the main symptoms of sleep apnoea, such as if:
- your breathing stops and starts while you sleep
- you make gasping, snorting or choking noises while you sleep
- you always feel very tired during the day