Sleep and Memory Issues: Are They Linked?
Sleep disorders can cause many side effects and pose an increased risk for a large number of health conditions. One of the many things that sleep disorders can affect is memory. If you or someone you love suffers from a sleep disorder, such as OSA, it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible to reduce the risk of these issues. How does sleep quality impact memory retention? Keep reading to learn more about the link between sleep and memory issues and how sleep apnea treatment can help you live a healthier overall life.
Why REM is So Important for Memory Retention
The human body cycles through 2 phases of sleep, (1) rapid eye movement (REM) and (2) nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, which is further divided into 3 stages—N1 to N3. Each phase and stage of sleep includes variations in muscle tone, brain wave patterns, and eye movements. The body cycles through all stages approximately 4 to 6 times each night, averaging 90 minutes for each cycle.
Important characteristics of REM:
- Associated with dreaming and irregular muscle movements as well as rapid movements of the eyes
- People tend to awaken spontaneously in the morning during an episode of REM sleep
- Loss of motor tone, increased brain O2 use, increased and variable pulse and blood pressure
- Increased levels of ACh
- The brain is highly active throughout REM sleep, increasing brain metabolism by up to 20%
REM is associated with dreaming and is not considered a restful sleep stage. While the EEG is similar to an awake individual, the skeletal muscles are atonic and without movement, except for the eyes and diaphragmatic muscles, which remain active. However, the breathing rate is more erratic and irregular. This stage usually starts 90 minutes after the sleep state, with each REM cycle increasing throughout the night. The first cycle typically lasts 10 minutes, with the final cycle lasting up to 1 hour. REM is when dreaming, nightmares, and penile/clitoral tumescence occur.
In addition, the process of preserving key memories and discarding excessive information takes place during both the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) stages of your sleep cycle.
Sleep Apnea and Memory Issues
REM sleep takes up about 25% of your night and is the area of sleep most affected by sleep apnea. If the REM stage is continuously disrupted due to sleep apnea, the body is not able to reach the deeper stages of sleep, and, therefore, the body will not have the time to retain as much information as someone who does not suffer from a sleep disorder.
Sleep apnea is a common condition in which your breathing stops and restarts many times while you sleep. This can prevent your body from getting enough oxygen. You may want to talk to your healthcare provider about sleep apnea if someone tells you that you snore or gasp during sleep, or if you experience other symptoms of poor-quality sleep, such as excessive daytime sleepiness.
Your partner may alert you to some of the symptoms of sleep apnea, such as:
- Breathing that starts and stops during sleep
- Frequent loud snoring
- Gasping for air during sleep
You may also notice the following symptoms yourself:
- Daytime sleepiness and tiredness which can lead to problems learning, focusing, and reacting
- Dry mouth or headaches
- Sexual dysfunction or decreased libido
- Waking up often during the night to urinate
Untreated Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a difficult condition that affects sleep quality and can lead to many other health conditions. It will not go away on its own; in fact, it will worsen over time. Some of the many health conditions that are caused by sleep apnea include:
- High blood pressure
- Cardiovascular issues
- Stroke
- Brain damage
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s
One of the reasons that sleep apnea causes so many issues is due to the lack of good oxygen your body is breathing. When individuals have OSA, they tend to breathe through their mouths and snore. Snoring and mouth breathing are not the body’s natural way of breathing, especially while sleeping. It is more of a survival mode tactic, which raises the blood pressure. When repeated night after night for years, this is one reason why cardiovascular issues are so closely linked to sleep apnea.
In addition, the body’s naturally intended way of breathing is through the nose because the nose acts like a filter for toxins. Allergens, bacteria, and other toxins are filtered out through the nose hairs before entering the lungs and bloodstream. When these toxins are not filtered through the nose and, rather, allowed in through the mouth, it can cause a host of issues. When the body is not running on optimal oxygen, it has more difficulty doing things such as losing weight, focusing, and retaining memory.
The Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s
If you or your partner are experiencing sleep apnea symptoms, it is important to get a sleep test done and get an official diagnosis. Then, seeking sleep apnea treatment will help you not only get a better night’s sleep and feel more energy throughout the day, but it will also decrease your risk of conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
A recent study involving 81 adults, primarily in their 60s and 70s, with a significant portion carrying genetic and familial risks for Alzheimer’s, provides valuable insights:
- REM Sleep Impact: The severity of OSA during REM sleep, measured by indices such as the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and oxyhemoglobin desaturation index (ODI), was strongly linked to poorer performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). This suggests that memory impairments were notably worse in individuals with more severe REM-related OSA.
- Age and Genetic Factors: The negative effects of REM sleep apnea on memory were particularly pronounced in older adults and those with the APOE4 allele, a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s. These individuals showed significant declines in both total learning and delayed recall abilities.
- REM vs. NREM OSA: The study highlighted that REM sleep, with its unique physiological demands, posed a greater threat to memory than non-REM sleep. OSA events in REM sleep led to longer apneas, more severe oxygen desaturations, and increased memory impairments.
How Much Sleep Should I Be Getting?
Adults over the age of 18 should be getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Getting too much sleep can also lead to cognitive impairments, so making up for lost sleep during the night with naps during the day could be doing more harm than good. Adults who sleep less than 7 hours per night, or more than 9 hours per night, may experience more health issues than people who sleep between the recommended 7 to 9 hours per night.
It is normal to not experience the right amount of sleep every once in a while. Whether you are sick, stressed out, jetlagged, busy, or sleeping in a different bed, a random night where you do not get the full recommended 7-9 hours of sleep won’t significantly impact your health. If it happens repeatedly, night after night, especially for many years, it will cause issues.
For example, depression is closely linked with sleep quality. People suffering from depression either do not get enough sleep, or they get way too much sleep. This is one of many reasons that individuals who are suffering from depression may experience exacerbated health issues due to their sleep quality.
How to Get Better Sleep and Improve Your Memory
If you are experiencing memory issues or want to decrease your chances of it happening to you, there are some things you can do to get better sleep and improve your memory. In addition, these tips will help you decrease your chances of other significant health concerns, such as cardiovascular issues and strokes.
Practice Healthy Sleep Habits
Practicing healthy sleep habits is the first step toward getting a better night’s sleep. Some of these include:
- Eating a healthy diet
- Drink more water
- Exercising regularly, but no later than 2 hours before bedtime
- Limit caffeine
- Avoid smoking
- Quit drinking alcohol
- Keep your naps short or eliminate them altogether
- Avoid taking sedative medication
- Keep meals small right before bed, or wait 3 hours after your last meal before bed
- Avoid screentime in the hour leading up to bedtime
- Practice meditation techniques to promote stress management
- Pick a bedtime and an awake time and stick to them; this will help get your body into a rhythm
Seek Sleep Apnea Treatment with Gorman Health and Wellness
Dr. Gorman is a part of the breathing wellness movement, which aims to increase awareness and improve treatment for sleep-related airway conditions like sleep apnea. He has partnered with organizations focused on collaborating with dentists to apply the sciences of Craniofacial Epigenetics (the study of cranial modifications caused by gene expression as opposed to genetic code alteration) and Pneumopedics® (the practical application of oral appliance therapy and non-surgical airway remodeling) in the management of sleep apnea.
Together, the application of these sciences allows for underlying causes of airway obstruction to be treated in 98% of cases, resulting in a high success rate among sleep apnea patients. For every sleep apnea case at our practice, Dr. Gorman will gather patient data and determine the patient’s specific needs based on home sleep test results, dental impressions, CT scans, and images. Our state-of-the-art technology, paired with Dr. Gorman’s experience with sleep disorders, allows him to find the most effective treatment plan for each individual’s particular case, yielding improved daytime and nighttime breathing for the patient.
“I have been helping people suffering from Sleep Apnea with a non-invasive, clinically approved treatment method. This method has allowed my patients to sleep with far fewer events per hour, allowing them to get rid of their CPAP and BiPAP machines. Imagine not having to use one of those machines, getting back a much greater quality of life along with the benefits of being able to breathe better.” – Dr. Gorman.
For more information on Dr. Gorman, improving your sleep apnea, and decreasing your chances for health issues such as Alzheimer’s, contact us today.
