Sleepless & Sad: How Sleep Apnea Can Cause Depression

By Author: Lauren Lee Polito
Total Articles: 55
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Perhaps you know a bit about sleep apnea. Namely, it’s a condition that keeps you from getting a good night’s rest. Still, were you aware it can affect your mind as much as your body? Evidence suggests that untreated sleep apnea can cause depression. That said, you can fix your mood by addressing this sleep issue. Your Fayetteville dental practice will even explain how. So, here’s a primer on sleep apnea, how it causes depression, and how a dentist can help.

What’s Sleep Apnea?
Before moving forward, it helps to review the basics of sleep apnea. Doing so will help you grasp the problem’s depressive effects.

Put simply, sleep apnea is a potentially severe sleep disorder. It occurs when your breathing often stops and starts while asleep. As that happens, your airway will be partially or fully blocked. Your brain will then wake you to clear the blockage and resume breathing.

Sadly, these brief awakenings aren’t harmless. They’ll cause you to suffer from shallow, intermittent sleep. From there, you’ll develop unpleasant symptoms like:

• Abrupt Waking
• Shortness of Breath
...
... • Loud or chronic snoring
• Morning headaches
• Attention problems
• Daytime fatigue

How Does It Cause Depression?
In recent years, scientists found that sleep apnea’s effects are more than physical. The condition can trigger major depression if it persists long enough.

This conclusion is backed by varied research. For instance, a 2015 study from the journal SLEEP found that sleep apnea is strongly associated with depression. (Nearly 73% of 293 sleep apnea patients reported symptoms.) Meanwhile, a study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine notes that sleep apnea treatment reduces depressive moods.

All that said, the link between sleep apnea and depression isn’t well understood. A few researchers believe a loss in sleep quality alters mood-related brain patterns. Some speculate that a reduction in sleep quality alters mood-related brain patterns. In contrast, others believe tiredness or fatigue contributes to pre-existing depression.

How Should You Respond?
To treat your depression, start with managing your sleep apnea. There are various ways to reach this latter goal. In particular, consider the tips below:

• Get Regular Exercise – In reality, exercising regularly can ease depression and help weight loss. The latter effect would also reduce sleep apnea, which is often caused by obesity.
• Don’t Sleep on Your Back – If you sleep on your back, your tongue may block your airway. Consider sleeping on your side or stomach instead.
• See Your Dentist – To be honest, many dentists are well-equipped to treat sleep apnea. Some even offer custom oral appliances that open your airway. By using them, you’d breathe more easily and wake up at night less often.

If you’re careless, sleep apnea can cause depression. Therefore, see your dental provider to rest better and feel happier.