Making The Connection: Sleep Apnea – Diabetes

With many medical conditions there are other conditions that tend to go hand in hand with one another. This might be for many different reasons, but usually when you treat one, it also helps to treat the other making it that much more important to look for good treatments.

Sleep apnea is like many other medical conditions. It causes symptoms that create problems for the sufferer; in this case sleep deprivation due to repeated skips in breath during the night. Of course when you treat the sleep apnea, you also treat the symptoms and reduce or eliminate the night time restlessness and daytime sleepiness. But that is not the only positive effect.

There is a definitely sleep apnea diabetes connection. As a matter of fact, those with sleep apnea are nine times more likely to have diabetes than those without the sleep disorder! This means that if you have diabetes it is a good idea to be on the lookout for symptoms of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is when the airway is obstructed during sleep, causing you to skip breaths. By definition this should happen five or more times per hour to be considered sleep apnea. It happens because muscles in the throat that are tight during the day relax at night and actually cause structures in the mouth to collapse and block the airway.

Studies have shown that within the sleep apnea diabetes connection there is positive evidence that sleep apnea has a negative effect on blood sugar regulation. This is why it is both common for those with diabetes to have sleep apnea and also for those with sleep apnea to develop diabetes.

If you turn this on its head you will also find that those with sleep apnea diabetes who get treatment for sleep apnea also see a marked improvement in their symptoms of diabetes. The relationship between sleep apnea and blood sugar regulation become very clear.

During a study it was found that people with both diabetes and sleep apnea who were treated for sleep apnea with a CPAP devise for an extended period of time showed a significant decrease in blood sugar levels after meals. This is a very exciting find for diabetics!

If you have diabetes and find yourself feeling tired throughout the day or your spouse complains of your snoring you should see your doctor and ask about sleep apnea. Your doctor may refer you to a sleep specialist and they might have you take a sleep test, or polysomnogram.

If it turns out that you do have sleep apnea, you can be glad you know that! Now you can start treatment for that and you will have better quality sleep which will improve your life in many ways. On top of that, you will also see an improvement on your glucose regulation, which is more than an added bonus. It is a potential life saver!



Technorati Tags: Sleep Apnea Diabetes, Sleep Apnea Symptoms, Sleep Apnea Cause