To save your brain, do something about your snoring and sleep apnea. A new study has linked breathing problems during sleep to an earlier decline in memory and thinking skills.
Researchers at New York University Medical Center found a troubling link between abnormal breathing patterns like snoring and brain function. They studied the medical histories of more than twenty-four hundred people between the ages of 55 and 90. What they found was worrisome: Those who snored or have sleep apnea were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment at an average age of 77. For those without sleep-related breathing problems, cognitive problems didn’t appear until an average age of 90.
Still, the news isn’t all bad. Treating the breathing problems with a common technique known as continuous positive airway pressure can prevent cognitive decline. The device is a mask worn over the nose during sleep. It stops sleep apnea and snoring by delivering a stream of pressurized air into the throat.
Breathing problems during sleep affect many people in the United States. More than 18 million people have sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops briefly. About 90 million people snore, including 37 million who do it on a regular basis. About half of heavy snorers also have sleep apnea.
And there’s more at stake than just the early onset of mild cognitive impairment. The researchers found that those with breathing problems during sleep were also more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier age. For snorers, the Alzheimer’s diagnosis came at an average age of 83. For those without breathing problems, the average age for Alzheimer’s onset was 88.
So knocking out the snoring will do more than make you sleep better. It might just preserve your brain function.