Studies done on lab mice revealed a link between sleep apnea and the spread of cancer. There's a persistent and dangerous myth circulating that only fat people have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA is a congenital, structural problem in which breathing stops during sleep.
This rumor is a convenient, but illogical fallacy. Wouldn't it be nice to think that sleep apnea would disappear if only sufferers lost a little weight and exercised more? Alas, like all convenient delusions, it's what people tell themselves when they don't want to face facts. It's also dangerous to pooh-pooh OSA. Sleep apnea kills people.
Sleep apnea (from the Greek meaning "without breath") is caused when nasal passages collapse like drinking straws when the air is sucked out of them. When that happens, the body must manually restart breathing. It happens with a loud snort or gasp associated with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is primarily a hereditary problem. I have sleep apnea. My mother I have always snored heavily. My mother snores heavily as did both of my grandparents. They very likely would test positive for sleep apnea if they had a sleep study done. No one in our family was obese or overweight.
Even as a baby, my family says that I snored and was restless. I have also walked and talked in my sleep and had vivid dreams. I have done this all my life. Up until age 12, I would gently bang my head against my pillow to fall asleep. One of my sons did this as a child too. It was unnerving for anyone who has no experience with it. For Jake and I, it was how we got to sleep. I can't speak definitively, but I believe that we did this in response to sleep apnea.
For people with extreme sleep apnea, the reverse can be true. Having sleep apnea can cause weight gain. How? Sleep apnea is debilitating. During one night, I have several hundred apneas. All those wake-sleep jags are exhausting. A normal person spends 40 percent of their sleep in deep, delta sleep. This is the most restful sleep. My sleep showed that only 1 percent to 2 percent of my sleep was delta sleep.
I suffered from persistent stress-induced depression. I began taking Paxil for to combat anxiety. I fell asleep all the time: talking to people, driving, everywhere. I couldn't go more than about two hours without falling asleep, no matter how long I spent in bed at night. I had no energy. I was in constant muscle and back pain. I got sick very easily.
All my life, I weighed between 110-135 pounds all of my life. A lifetime of not resting and constant pain coupled with the SSRI medication made me put on weight. Dieting was no problem, but exercise left me exhausted. After a walk downtown I would fall asleep as soon as I got home.
Having the sleep study and starting the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) breathing machine has revolutionized my life. I've quit the Paxil. I can sleep five or six hours and feel refreshed. I don't need daily naps. I don't fall asleep driving. My energy level is up. I'm losing weight. I'm not depressed anymore. The back pain is more manageable.
I've heard people say that sleep studies will always show that a person has sleep apnea so that they can start people on CPAPs. A CPAP isn't great fun to wear. It's cumbersome. The straps make my eczema flare up. Sometimes it's uncomfortable. Despite having a plastic mask covering my face, air blowing at me and a hose wrapped around my neck, I sleep like a log. If I can sleep that well with all those inconveniences, the CPAP must be doing something right. It's drug-free, low maintenance, and relatively painless. I'm not seeing the problem.
Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 22 years parenting four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and home-school. Marilisa has written extensively about parenting and health for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
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