Sleep Apnea and Affect on Memory and Health

Sleep Apnea : Effects on Memory and Health

I . Introduction and Literature Review

Purpose of the Study

People take sleeping for granted . Many sacrifice this period of rest and body 's recovery from exhaustion when there are many tasks at hand but oftentimes , they do so because of other leisurely activities that are done during nighttime and the wee hours of the morning . No person can say he /she does not need sleep . It is as natural a need as hunger and thirst . Many studies come out on the daily news that influence

the public . Usually these are health issues , either to guide people in their buying habits or to make them aware of the latest health scare and how to avoid them . Sleep apnea literature also has frequently made it to those daily news programs . While the term seems common and harmless a lot of people do not know what it really is , how to diagnose its occurrence , and whether a need for treatment is in . This attempts to explain some the latest studies done and therapeutic or treatment approaches to be considered to any sufferer

Scholarly Review of the Literature

Dr . Sean Drummond has spent time on researches especially on the outcome of sleep deprivation on the brain . His study is specifically focused on military individuals who are oftentimes sleep-deprived how this affects the decision-making process and even as to how long it will take to recover from the deprivation ( HYPERLINK "http /www .emaxhealth .com /46 /6912 .html www .emaxhealth .com /46 /6912 .html "We can 't keep as many things online at any one time when we 're sleep deprived . Sleep deprivation significantly impairs attention , working memory performance , our ability to drive . It has the same effect as alcohol does " Dr . Drummond says

The Drummond study , although has sleep deprivation and its effects as its focal point , has bearings as well in the problem of sleep apnea . In a study like this , it helps us understand that whenever the brain undergoes deprivation , many individual activities will be affected even at times fatal ( HYPERLINK "http /www .emaxhealth .com /46 /6912 .html www .emaxhealth .com /46 /6912 .html

In two studies commissioned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH the researchers tried to establish the consequences of breathing problems on mental development and intelligence . The studies , observed children and infants , with ages one year old and five year old . Infants experiencing apnea , characterized by multiple brief breathing pauses , or slow heart rates while asleep showed a lower performance on the tests for mental development in comparison with infants their age . The second study utilized data from observations made on five year old children This demonstrated that intelligence and memory are affected by breathing problems . The children in the study had frequent snoring , loud or noisy breathing while asleep , or sleep apneas . Researchers concluded that children who experience these problems tend to have behavioral problems than other children HYPERLINK "http /www .nhlbi .nih .gov /sleep www .nhlbi .nih .gov...