Connection Between Sleep Apnea And Depression!

If you have depression, you are five times more likely to develop sleep apnea, a breathing-related sleep disorder, than non-depressed people.

Doctors do not stop with first diagnosis, if the patient has depression, instead detect whether there is breathing-related sleep disorder or not.

Breathing related sleep disorders include chronic and disruptive snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

When sleep apnea is left untreated, it can lead to hypertension, cognitive deterioration and stroke. It also affects your regular routine and disturbs your social, familial and professional life.

According to the studies, sleep apnea is associated with higher rates of depressive disorder and treating sleep apnea helps in controlling depression in patients.

Link between sleep apnea and depression:

If you have depression, fatigue or social relationship problems, you can have the primary problem of sleep apnea. If you snore, gasp, or pause in breathing during sleep, you have to consult the sleep specialist immediately.

The symptoms of depression such as sad feelings, discouragement, feelings of excessive personnel failures, decrease in self-confidence, inability to derive pleasure from things, and suicidal thoughts can attribute to obstructive sleep apnea, which is an easily treatable medical illness.

Common symptoms of sleep apnea and depression:

• Sleepy, feeling tired, poorly motivated and fatigued
• Losing pleasure in daily life activities
• Becoming withdrawn or irritable
• Having problem in concentrating and remembering facts

Sleep apnea treatment improves depression:

Psychologists and psychiatrists play an important role in treating sleep apnea. You can face social and emotional challenges in accepting the therapy. You ca fail to comply with the treatment due to lack of emotional support.

Family members and friends should give support and understand and accept the positive changes in your personality.

The most common sleep apnea treatment called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) can improve depression symptoms if you have obstructive sleep apnea. With CPAP treatment, you have to wear a special mask that blows air continuously into the throat, preventing the tissues from collapsing.

The additional air pressure given by CPAP keeps your airway from collapsing. You can breathe normally during sleep and you can have normal sleep patterns. Your sleep becomes restorative and you feel better. You can see the result immediately, but you have to continue the therapy permanently.

After the use of CPAP for four to six weeks, depression scores dropped significantly. Apart from CPAP therapy, weight loss and surgery also helps to treat sleep apnea. Once sleep apnea is recognized, depression can be easily treated.