As a sufferer of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), you might be experiencing quite a few side effects including trouble breathing in the middle of the night, waking up unusually exhausted, and others. However short-lived those effects may be, there are other effects of not sleeping through the night that may cause long-term damage, including your lifespan.
Image via abc.net.au
Could untreated sleep apnea result in shaving years off of your life? According to a 2019 study by Oxford, it certainly could.
In this article titled, Sleep Disordered Breathing Associated with Epigenetic Age Acceleration, tested with 53% female and 47% male and an average age of 67.8 found that disruption in your breathing while asleep not only changes your circadian rhythm causing exhaustion, but it also aids in age acceleration.
The scientists that published the article concluded: “Increasing SDB (sleep disordered breathing) [a side effect of OSA] severity and sleep disruption was associated with epigenetic age acceleration, independent of measured confounders.”
Epigenetics refers to the changes that can happen in DNA because of lifestyle and environmental factors that can affect how genes behave. When you don’t get enough sleep, your DNA could be aging faster than it normally would.
In the study, one of the authors stated, “Traditionally, we don’t give as much attention to sleep as we do to exercise or smoking,” says Dr. Li. “But it’s another modifiable risk factor, like smoking, physical inactivity, or poor diet.”
The good news is, epigenetic aging is reversible when treated and could improve cardiovascular and neurobehavioral health.
“Although there is no cure for sleep apnea, recent studies show that successful treatment can reduce the risk of heart and blood pressure problems.” – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
At Sleep Rehab, located in the Dallas area, we can provide treatments that have proven time and time again to treat your sleep apnea with the possibility to slow the age acceleration that OSA has caused. These treatments are non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical and non-surgical. No CPAP required. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
After your partner complained that your loud 
While obstructive 
Not getting enough sleep can have more severe consequences than just being tired the next day. Recent research has shown that your guts – which refer to your small and large intestines – might suffer if you fail to get a good night’s rest, and that could have a huge, negative impact on your quality of life and overall healthy. To avoid this, it’s important to understand how a lack of sleep affects your gut health.
Maybe you’re suffering from a serious sleep disorder, or maybe you’re a new parent with a baby that keeps crying during the night. Whatever the reason, interrupted sleep can leave you feeling tired the next morning. Unfortunately, that’s not the worst that can happen, especially if it’s an issue that lasts for weeks. Here are 5 ways your physical and mental can be affected if you don’t catch enough z’s.
Sleeping seems pretty straightforward; all that happens is that the body and brain shut down for a while and give themselves a chance to recover from a busy day, right? Not exactly! There’s a lot more activity going on than you’d think during your nightly slumber. Everyone goes through multiple sleep cycles each night – usually 4 or 5, assuming you’re getting enough rest. Here’s the truth of what happens to your body while you’re snoozing.
Do you spend time watching YouTube or playing games on your phone right before bed? With electronics playing such a constant part of our daily lives, it can be hard to pull yourself away. But too much screen time right before falling asleep may be affecting the quality of your rest more than you realize. Learn the sleep science behind how technology may be keeping you up.