Snoring Could Be Harming Your Brain Health

I recently read the following Snoring article and felt the information should be more widely disseminated.   The article was published by Medscape staff on Medscape, Friday, July 28, 2023; and is now copied so that Atlanta ENT patients may read this important health information.  

Those who snore can be aging their brains by years and hurting their brain health by depriving themselves of getting deep sleep, according to researchers with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Paris-Cité, Paris, France.

What to Know:

Loud snoring and obstructed breathing, often caused by sleep apnea, can lead to higher chances of exhibiting signs of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, or overall cognitive decline.

Tiny lesions on the brain, known as white matter hyperintensities, are biomarkers that indicate brain health, becoming more prevalent with age or uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Participants with severe sleep apnea had more white matter hyperintensities than those with mild or moderate conditions and demonstrated a decrease in the integrity of the axons of the brain that connect nerve cells.

Deep sleep is one of the best indicators of sleep quality and the study found that for every 10% decrease in deep sleep, the white matter hyperintensities increased, equivalent to the brain aging 2.3 years.

The same 10% reduction of deep sleep was also associated with reducing the integrity of axons, and that decrease was similar to the effect of the brain appearing 3 years older.

This is a summary of the article "Association of Polysomnographic Sleep Parameters With Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Cerebrovascular Disease in Older Adults With Sleep Apnea" in the Neurology on May 10, 2023. The full article can be found on  n.neurology.org.

Ramie A. Tritt, MD

President, Atlanta ENT

Author

Ramie A. Tritt, MD Ramie A. Tritt, MD, FRCSC, specializes in nasal and sinus surgery as well as snoring and sleep apnea surgery at Atlanta ENT, Sinus & Allergy Associates, P.C.’s Sandy Springs location in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Tritt graduated from medical school with honors from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He completed his otolaryngology residency at McGill University and his fellowship in otology and head and neck surgery at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Otolaryngology and a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Tritt is a member of the Medical Association of Georgia and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Tritt has been an instructor at national ENT meetings, a Medical Advisory Board member for computer image-guided sinus surgery, and been recognized by Atlanta Magazine as a “Doctor Who Doctors Go To”.