#cognitive-impairment

#cognitive-impairment

Studies suggest nearly 60 percent of people with OSA experience some degree of cognitive impairment, including difficulties with attention, working memory, and episodic memory. Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety are also more common. Over time, untreated sleep apnea has been linked to declines in concentration, executive function, and long-term memory. So what's actually happening inside the brain while someone with undiagnosed sleep apnea sleeps?

Recent studies conclude that high glucose levels from sugar impacts your memory and impair cognition. In fact, individuals with diabetes, a condition that causes elevated high blood-sugar levels, are known to increase stress and have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia. It seems that the brain in type II diabetes, just like the body, has difficulty utilizing sugar for energy and this can lead to slower processing when it comes to memory retrieval.

In a meta-analysis, cognitive impairment manifested in deficits in attention, memory, and executive function in a substantial number of patients, depending on the level of illness severity.