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The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes

Sleep apnea is a condition in which people temporarily stop breathing for approximately 10 seconds. Throughout the night, someone suffering from sleep apnea will regularly experience these periods of breathing interruptions. In some cases, these lapses in breathing can occur hundreds of times throughout the night.

Interestingly, people who suffer from sleep apnea are nine times more likely to suffer from diabetes than people who are not affected by sleep apnea. Likewise, people with diabetes, especially those with Type 2 diabetes, are more likely than non-diabetics to develop obstructive sleep apnea.

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Sleep Apnea: Common Symptoms

The two most common symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring and restless sleep. Other sleep apnea symptoms include:

anxiety
decreased sex drive
depression
difficulty concentrating during waking hours
esophageal reflux
excessive daytime sleepiness or fatigue
forgetfulness
frequent need to urinate during the night
heavy sweating during sleep
increased heart rate
mood or behavior changes
morning headaches.

Many people who suffer from sleep apnea are not aware of their condition, as many of the symptoms arise during sleep. If you are experiencing a number of the daytime symptoms of sleep apnea, talk to your doctor. He might suggest you participate in a nighttime sleep study to determine if sleep apnea is causing your symptoms.

Link Between Diabetes and Sleep Apnea

Research has been conducted to try to establish the connection between diabetes and sleep apnea. Researchers believe that one reason people with sleep apnea are more prone to developing diabetes is that restless sleep can cause hormonal changes in the body that work against insulin's action. This can aggravate existing diabetes or even lead to a person developing diabetes.

Another explanation for the connection between the two conditions is obesity, as being excessively overweight puts a person at higher risk for developing both sleep apnea and diabetes. Specifically, type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body does not respond appropriately to insulin, can often accompany obesity and high cholesterol, two conditions that also increase the risk for sleep apnea.

As people who have sleep apnea are often obese and suffer from high cholesterol, they tend to have higher than normal levels of glucose in their blood. Because glucose causes fluctuations in blood sugar levels, it's a major risk factor associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Thus, people with sleep apnea are at an elevated risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Similarly, people with Type 2 diabetes who also suffer from sleep apnea could see their diabetes worsen over time.

Managing Diabetes

Talk to your doctor about various ways of managing diabetes, especially if you also suffer from sleep apnea. Diabetes has no cure, but you can maintain excellent health if you take care of yourself and take proper precautions.

To manage your diabetes, follow your doctor's instructions and take insulin, if necessary. In addition, you need to control your diet, exercise regularly and monitor your glucose levels frequently.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

To prevent people with sleep apnea from developing or worsening their diabetes, treating sleep apnea is important. Sleep apnea can help a person get a good night's sleep, reducing the negative health effects of this condition.

Sleep apnea treatment includes:

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): In CPAP, during sleep, a person wears a facemask that blows pressurized air into his mouth to keep his airway open.CPAP helps eliminate nighttime lapses in breathing and has also been shown to help improve glucose levels.
Lifestyle Changes: Losing weight, quitting smoking and cutting back on alcohol can help sleep apnea, not to mention improve your health in general. People can greatly improve sleep apnea and diabetes through proper diet and exercise.
Sleep Apnea Surgery: While there are surgeries to help treat sleep apnea on a permanent basis, they generally don't have a high success rate. CPAP and lifestyle changes are more effective at managing sleep apnea.

Resources

About.com (March 2, 2005). Help for Sleep Apnea and Diabetes. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the About.com Web site: http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/cpap/a/diabapnea.htm.

Diabetes.org (2007). Diabetes Might Be Linked with Sleep Apnea. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the Diabetes.orgWeb site: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetesnewsarticle.jsp?
storyId=15606505&filename=20070730/comtex20070730up00
001511bcusdiabet.

WebMD (March 1, 2005). Sleep Apnea Treatment May Improve Diabetes. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from the Web MD Web site:
http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20050301/
sleep-apnea-treatment-may-improve-diabetes.

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