Snoring can be one of the signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a relatively common disease that affects children and adults. There’s been quite a bit of press lately about it- and for good reason: sleep apnea, which tends to be greatly underdiagnosed, can have a tremendous affect on your brain power.

Furthermore, unlike many neurologic conditions, it is usually easy to treat. Patients are usually prescribed a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) mask to wear at night over their nose.

[above picture taken from the Mayo Clinic Website)

A new study out of Brown University Medical School looked at how memory ability faired with CPAP usage.

• Of those who used it less than 2 hours per night (i.e., poorly compliant), 21% had normal memory function
• Of those who used it 2-6 hours per night, 44% had normal memory function
• Of those who used it more than 6 hours per night (optimal treatment, compliant), 68% had normal memory function

“Patients with OSA often complain of daily forgetfulness, e.g., losing their keys, forgetting phone numbers, or forgetting to complete daily tasks,” said senior study author Mark S. Aloia, PhD, who published his research in the December issue of the medical journal Chest. “Where memory is concerned, we may have the ability to reverse some of the impairments by providing effective and consistent use of CPAP treatment.”

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that compliance is an issue, as many patients don’t get used to the CPAP machine and find it intrusive.

You may want to read an earlier post about how sleep apnea can:

• Damage the hippocampus- one of the main memory centers of the brain, and also
• Lower children’s IQ test scores

Another post discusses how enlarged tonsils can lead to sleep apnea, which in turn can lead to ADHD in children.

For a list of sleep apnea symptoms and associated features, click here.

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Just read an article on WebMD that discusses new research out of the University of Florida.

The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, reveals that children who are obese by age 4 are more likely to have lower IQ scores.

Specifically, children that weigh 150% more than their ideal weight had IQ scores that were 25-30 points lower.

While many would tend to think that the morbid obesity caused the brain power deficit; to me it seems just as plausible that a pre-existing disorder of the brain predisposes towards obesity and a lower IQ test score.

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