Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a serious health condition that affects many aspects of well-being, from mood and energy levels to hormone balance and chronic illness risk. However treating OSA can bring about positive changes in all of these areas. By addressing OSA through lifestyle modifications, positive sleep hygiene practices, or medical interventions like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, individuals can experience improved mood, better blood pressure control, weight management, and an overall sense of well-being.
Once you have a CPAP machine and feel the difference it makes in your life you probably won’t want to sleep with out it again. ever. Ask, Dr. Dee Bonney. Quick story, we (hi, this is Megan writing) were at a conference in South Carolina and *gasp* he forgot his CPAP at home. Picture Kevin’s mom on the plane in Home Alone when she realizes he is still there and she is half way to Paris. Yep, he freaked out. Why? Because he knew he was not going to sleep well for the next three nights and therefore, I was not going to sleep well either. His CPAP machine keeps him from snoring, gasping for breath, and overall just sleeping more soundly at night. He frantically was googling “where to find a CPAP machine in South Carolina”… Long story short, we survived without finding one, he was fatigued, and now whenever we travel it’s the thing we double and triple check off our list so there will be no CPAP At Home sequal.
Why OSA such a big deal?
OSA is considered a contributing factor to the development of chronic illnesses and it’s an easy fix. The repeated drops in oxygen levels and sleep disruption associated with OSA can lead to a cascade of adverse health effects. Let’s just talk about a few:
- Cardiovascular Disease: OSA is a known risk factor for hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. The intermittent hypoxia and increased stress on the cardiovascular system can lead to inflammation and damage to blood vessels, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis and other cardiac issues.
- Diabetes: insulin resistance is such a hot topic right now because it’s so the root of many of many health issues so if we can get a handle on anything putting us at higher risk impaired glucose control the better.
- Metabolic Syndrome: sleep apnea is often seen in individuals with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and abnormal lipid levels.
- Chronic Inflammation: The chronic low-grade inflammation associated with OSA can contribute to various health problems, including autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and even cancer.
CPAP machine. Because you know what’s sexy? Sleep and good health. Get one if you need it.
If that’s not enough into making you want to get a sleep study (it’s never been easier, more on that below) let’s talk about how it lowers testosterone and causes weight issues:
OSA can also have a profound impact on hormone levels, particularly in men. One of the most noticeable effects is a decrease in testosterone levels. Testosterone is essential for maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and libido. You’ll start feeling fatigued with reduced energy. Your weight will increase (testosterone helps with weight loss), and here’s the vicious cycle part, OSA can contribute to weight gain which then can exacerbate OSA further lowering testosterone, and round and round we go. Not to mention, lack of good sleep can cause mood issues and so can lowered testosterone which if you’ve ever been around a cranky person you know this is not great for relationships.
So, what to do
It’s pretty easy, atleast with us. Come in, we order your home sleep study and they say based upon a couple nights worth of data “yes, you need a CPAP machine” or “no, you’re doing ok” and then we make clinical decisions from there. Have insurance? The company we work with runs it through your insurance and then we work with your insurance company to figure out where your machine should come from. No insurance? No problem, Dr. Dee Bonney doesn’t have traditional insurance either (we have Affordashare — totally recommend if you’re looking) the sleep study it self was totally affordable and we help you send the CPAP prescription to where we ordered ours from and it’ll ship directly to you. In full transparency we spent around $1100 all in for the sleep study and the machine. The CPAP machine was the most expensive part. But again, read above, Dee Bonney won’t be without it because he knows how vital it is to, well, everything.
