A new study shows that people with sleep apnea who spend less time in deep sleep are more likely to develop brain health problems that could lead to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or stroke.
Previous research has shown a link between sleep problems and cognitive decline and dementia, and this latest study sought to explore possible causes. Mayo Clinic researchers examined two measures of brain health in people with sleep apnea. Using MRI brain images, they were able to detect signs of aging in the brain’s white matter and neural connections.
The findings weren’t strong enough to allow researchers to say that sleep apnea causes cognitive decline or stroke, but they are sound enough to direct scientists to investigate further.
In a statement, researcher Diego Z. Carvalho, MD, said the findings are “important because there is no treatment for these changes in the brain, so we need to find ways to prevent them from occurring or worsening.”
The study, published Wednesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, involved 140 people diagnosed with sleep apnea, whose average age was 73. The researchers analyzed data from MRIs of human brains and from nocturnal sleep studies.
Reduced deep sleep (also called slow wave or non-REM stage 3) was directly related to how old people’s brains looked. The less time someone spent in deep sleep, the older their brain looked.
The people in the study had the most common type of sleep apnea, called obstructive sleep apnea. This condition results in a blockage of air flow into or out of the mouth or nose, even when someone is trying to breathe.
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