Sleep apnea can do a lot of things to our body and some of them can turn out to be risky conditions. It’s important to learn what sleep apnea can cause and I’m here to share my knowledge about it!
So, how does sleep apnea cause diabetes? Sleep apnea is a result of difficult breathing and may lead to sleep deprivation. When we are sleep deprived, our body is unable to make insulin work which causes diabetes.
Insulin is necessary to allow glucose to enter our cells but when we have sleep apnea and we don’t get enough sleep, insulin activities will stop beyond our control.
Our body will also produce more hormones called “ghrelin” and it’s the hormones which make us want to eat. This means the more ghrelin we get due to lack of sleep, the more we will eat.
Eating more while having lack of glucose control will also lead to diabetes.
So to simplify it, when we are sleep deprived because of sleep apnea, our body makes us want to eat more due to ghrelin hormones and we can’t stop due to the lack of leptin hormones which stops us from eating.
As a result, the insulin activities will stop and give similar effects to being diabetic even when the person is not originally prone to diabetes. These conditions will happen without us noticing immediately.
Apparently, it’s common for people with sleep apnea to have Type 2 diabetes and there’s a high chance that people with type 2 diabetes will have sleeping conditions such as sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can cause diabetes but diabetes can also cause sleep apnea. Either way, both conditions worsen each other which is why it must be cured as soon as possible.
If left untreated, a sleep apnea patient with diabetes will face more complicated health conditions and it’s all because of the body’s inability to make insulin work as it should.
It is actually not surprising that sleep apnea and diabetes coexists since they usually share the same risk factors such as obesity. As you read on, you’ll learn about how you can cure it and avoid it too.
How to cure sleep apnea and prevent diabetes
There are a few tips for people who want to avoid sleep apnea and its diabetes effect. It’s also better to be healthy so check this list that can help you out!
- Lose weight.
- Losing weight can lessen the risk of diabetes. Get plenty of exercises and maintain a healthy balanced and avoid sleep apnea.
- Follow proper sleeping position
- Make sure to elevate your head properly on the pillow to keep your neck relaxed and try sleeping on your side so the tongue does not mildly block the airway in the throat.
- Falling asleep with a wrong position may cause sleep apnea since the muscles won’t be able to relax properly.
- Stop or avoid smoking too much.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen sleep apnea. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of becoming diabetic. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of sleep apnea.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Drinking too much alcohol before sleeping can cause and worsen sleep apnea just like smoking.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause sleep apnea. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Maintain a proper sleep routine.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to sleep apnea since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
- Don’t overwork yourself all the time.
- Going to sleep exhausted can make us a lot more prone to sleep apnea. It’s important to relax a little bit at first before going to bed to lessen the risk of sleep apnea.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have sleep apnea. Treat or avoid triggering your allergies to avoid sleep apnea.
- Try to use CPAP treatment
- CPAP therapy is a commonly used method for treating sleep apnea and moderately control its symptoms such as avoiding the risk of becoming diabetic.
- Try an oral appliance
- An oral appliance is a dental mouthpiece that can help keep airways open just like snoring strips. Consult your dentist if you’re looking for an oral appliance. It can control sleep apnea.
Other treatments or surgeries can permanently get rid of sleep apnea for you are listed below as well.
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Over time, parents can adjust the brace using a special key to increase the amount of pressure for the teeth.
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- It might take months to recover.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the 2nd example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
At the end of the day, the wisest decision to make is to consult a health expert to properly diagnose your condition and find out what kind of procedure would be the best choice to treat your sleep apnea and diabetes.
What causes sleep apnea and diabetes
Now that you have an idea what options you have to cure sleep apnea and prevent the risk of becoming diabetic, you should also find out what causes it in the first place. Prevention is better than cure after all.
Some of these examples are natural or hereditary. Some cannot be helped at all. It’s only to make it clear why you are prone to sleep apnea.
- Obesity
- Can make breathing difficult even while asleep or not moving
- Hypothyroidism
- The condition wherein your body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which is needed to control how to use energy received from food through metabolism. Bad metabolism can affect heartbeat and breathing.
- Acromegaly
- Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
- Allergies
- There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
- Smoking cigarettes
- Excessive smoking can cause sleep apnea or worsen it
- Drinking liquor
- Too much liquor and drinking before going to sleep can cause sleep apnea.
- Drug usage
- Sedations or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea or worse.
- Being male
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea more than females
- Being old
- Observations also revealed that older adults are more prone to sleep apnea than younger ones due to more complicated health issues that may trigger sleep apnea
Other natural causes of sleep apnea can be a thick neck, narrow throat and having a round head. Avoid triggering your allergies or get medications for other conditions to cure your sleep apnea.
When sleep apnea and diabetes are untreated
If you’re thinking that sleep apnea and diabetes is not a big deal, check this list of shared risks that sleep apnea and diabetes hold against your health.
- Heart failure
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
- Heart attack
- Can also be severely threatening
- Irregular heartbeat
- Worsens the ability to breathe
- Can trigger anxiety
- Stroke
- Can leave permanent damage
- May lead to paralysis
- Depression
- Not an easy condition to treat
- Diabetes
- Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes can worsen high blood pressure
- Aside from your physical health, this can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work
- Increases ADHD
- Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus which is what happens when you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Having a lack of control to focus can lead to frustration
- Headaches
- You may wake up with a bad headache which will lead to other problems listed here
- Lack of daily energy
- As mentioned, your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well.
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
The thing is, sleep apnea, if left untreated or worsened by other factors, can lead to death. Its risks can be fatal and leave permanent damage or becoming diabetic which is what we are trying to avoid.
If diagnosed with sleep apnea, one must consider treating the problem as soon as possible in order to prevent any unwanted scenarios related to your health.
Related Questions
- Does sleep apnea raise blood pressure at night?
Yes, obstructive sleep apnea is capable of raising blood pressure when it “attacks” at night when we are asleep. It’s been studied that the obstruction in breathing can disrupt the body’s normal activity.
This leads to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and, other similar conditions.
- Can sleep apnea cause hypertension?
Yes, sleep apnea can cause hypertension or in other words, abnormally high blood pressure. Due to the abnormal activity caused by difficult breathing, our body does not function the way it should.
It has been recognized as one of the primary causes of hypertension.
