Can Sleep Apnea Speed Up Alzheimer’s Disease?
Sleep apnea is a common sleep problem where breathing stops and starts many times during the night. This disrupts sleep and cuts oxygen to the brain. Recent studies show it may speed up Alzheimer’s disease, a brain condition that worsens memory and thinking over time.
One key way sleep apnea harms the brain is by reducing oxygen levels. When breathing pauses, oxygen drops repeatedly. This injures brain cells, especially in memory areas. Over years, it leads to cognitive decline and raises dementia risk, including Alzheimer’s.https://www.nebraskamed.com/health/conditions-and-services/neurological-care/preventing-alzheimers-disease-and-dementia-by It also damages small blood vessels in the brain, causing tiny bleeds or poor blood flow linked to memory loss.https://www.nebraskamed.com/health/conditions-and-services/neurological-care/preventing-alzheimers-disease-and-dementia-by
Sleep apnea also blocks deep sleep. During deep sleep, the brain’s glymphatic system clears waste like beta-amyloid proteins, which build up in Alzheimer’s. Without this cleanup, proteins accumulate, causing inflammation, cell damage, and faster neurodegeneration.https://www.sparshhospital.com/blog/sleep-and-brain-health-alzheimers-risk/https://nursing.buffalo.edu/news-events/latest_news.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/podcast/Weiss-sleep-brain.detail.html About 97 percent of this cleaning happens in deep sleep stages that apnea interrupts.
Brain scans back this up. A study of people in their 50s with sleep apnea found more white matter hyperintensities on MRI as apnea worsened. These bright spots signal brain damage and predict dementia or Alzheimer’s.https://www.auntminnie.com/clinical-news/mri/article/15629367/mri-links-obstructive-sleep-apnea-and-dementia The link held even after checking factors like blood pressure and lifestyle.
Real-life cases highlight the risk. Nurse researcher Carleara Weiss saw her grandmother and great-grandmother snore loudly from sleep apnea. Both developed Alzheimer’s about 10 years later. This inspired her work on how poor sleep builds Alzheimer’s biomarkers.https://nursing.buffalo.edu/news-events/latest_news.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/podcast/Weiss-sleep-brain.detail.html
Treating sleep apnea might slow this down. Devices like CPAP machines improve oxygen and sleep quality. Studies suggest this could lower dementia risk and protect the brain.https://www.auntminnie.com/clinical-news/mri/article/15629367/mri-links-obstructive-sleep-apnea-and-dementiahttps://www.nebraskamed.com/health/conditions-and-services/neurological-care/preventing-alzheimers-disease-and-dementia-by Short-term benefits include better attention and memory. Long-term, it may prevent protein buildup.
Sleep apnea affects many older adults and links to Alzheimer’s patterns on cognitive tests.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12723186/ Poor sleep overall, including from apnea, worsens brain health in ways that speed decline.https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214459
Sources
https://www.auntminnie.com/clinical-news/mri/article/15629367/mri-links-obstructive-sleep-apnea-and-dementia
https://www.sparshhospital.com/blog/sleep-and-brain-health-alzheimers-risk/
https://www.nebraskamed.com/health/conditions-and-services/neurological-care/preventing-alzheimers-disease-and-dementia-by
https://nursing.buffalo.edu/news-events/latest_news.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/podcast/Weiss-sleep-brain.detail.html
{
lazyloadBackgroundObserver.observe( lazyloadBackground );
} );
};
const events = [
'DOMContentLoaded',
'elementor/lazyload/observe',
];
events.forEach( ( event ) => {
document.addEventListener( event, lazyloadRunObserver );
} );