Could Sleep Apnea Be Contributing to Diabetes?
Modern diets of processed foods undoubtedly make up a large portion of the blame for type two diabetes. But could sleep apnea play a role too? And how might treating one affect the other?
Let’s dig in and see how sleep apnea could be contributing to diabetes.
An Overview of Diabetes
When a person is eating, their body breaks down that food into sugar and releases that sugar into the bloodstream (increasing their blood sugar). When blood sugar goes up, it signals the pancreas to release insulin, which allows that blood sugar into the body’s cells for use as energy.
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how the body metabolizes sugar. People with diabetes either don’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as they should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in the bloodstream causing:
- Heart disease
- Vision loss
- Kidney disease
Symptom Crossover With Sleep Apnea
When a person is suffering from sleep apnea, they intermittently stop breathing while they sleep. Most often, these apneas are caused by an obstruction and are referred to as OSA or obstructive sleep apnea. Because of the concentration shift between oxygen and carbon dioxide, sleep apnea can contribute to several side effects associated with diabetes, including:
- Insulin resistance
- Chronically elevated blood pressure
- A higher incidence of heart problems or cardiovascular disease
- Early morning headaches
- Increases in carbon dioxide in the blood
Combining the Two Conditions
Sleep apnea and diabetes are both life-threatening conditions. When a person struggles with both sleep apnea and diabetes, they can experience heightened symptoms since both conditions share a few but they can also be faced with complications including:
- A lack of motivation to exercise
- A lack of motivation or forgetting to plan meals
- Forgetting to take medications
- Regularly feeling more irritable (which can affect relationships with family, friends, and coworkers)
Schedule a Sleep Apnea Treatment Consultation Today
For more information on sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, call Dr. David Buck’s office at 425-361-7499 to schedule a consultation.
