Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that we’re constantly learning more about. Those who suffer from sleep apnea have episodes throughout the night where their breathing will stop momentarily. This can happen hundreds of times each night. When you aren’t breathing properly while you sleep, several things happen to your body. The most important is that your blood oxygen levels drop drastically, depriving your body, heart, and brain of the oxygen that they need to function properly. New studies are also showing that the damage goes beyond what we previously knew.

How Sleep Apnea Affects Your Health

We already know that sleep apnea affects your health by depriving your body of oxygen as you sleep. Studies are now showing that this had a much greater impact on your heart and brain than researchers previously believed. Now they’re saying that statistics show sleep apnea can also affect your eye health.

When your body doesn’t get the oxygen it needs, it can’t function at its best capability. You may find it harder to concentrate during the day, your memory may worsen or suffer, and it can even cause your blood pressure to rise. All of these things put excessive stress on your body and can be damaging to the systems that keep you alive. If you think you may have sleep apnea, it’s vitally important that you speak with your doctor about treatment options that can get you back on the road to living a healthy life.

Sleep Apnea Increases the Risk of Progressive Eye Conditions

The largest clinical study to date done by the University of Michigan, on a condition called keratoconus has shed new light on how sleep apnea affects your eyes and your vision. Keratoconus is a condition that causes serious, progressive nearsightedness. It occurs when the rounded covering of the eye, known as the cornea is weakened and becomes cone shaped over time. This can cause devastating nearsightedness at a much younger age than it would otherwise normally occur.

The study evaluated the medical records of around 16,000 people who’ve been diagnosed with keratoconus and people who have presented with similar characteristics but not officially diagnosed with keratoconus. They cross referenced the data with other medical conditions held by the same people to try to get an idea of which medical conditions may be associated with keratoconus and which weren’t.

The results helped to confirm suspicions about the condition that had previously been raised with smaller studies. There was in fact some overlap between those who suffer from keratoconus and those who’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea. People with the sleeping disorder showed statistically significantly higher odds of having keratoconus than they had previously been aware of.

While the biological connection between the two medical issues has yet to be directly identified, however, there is no doubt with this new information that the two conditions are somehow linked. Not everyone who suffers from keratoconus also suffers from sleep apnea but there is a higher correlation between the two versus the general population.

The study revealed that people who suffer from sleep apnea are at a 13% increased chance of developing keratoconus compared to the general population sample. Of course this study only takes into consideration those who’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea. A large number of sleep apnea cases go undiagnosed.

Treating Sleep Apnea and Keratoconus

These findings, though terrifying, have given us valuable information about both sleep apnea and keratoconus. Both conditions are now easier to treat with advances in medical technology. As studies continue to show us the correlation between conditions such as keratoconus and sleep apnea, we will continue to get a further understanding about how sleep apnea affects every aspect of our health.
Thankfully, there are several treatment options for those who suffer from sleep apnea. You can speak with your doctor to discuss the options available for your treatment. You don’t want to put off treating sleep apnea as there are several secondary conditions that have been linked to the disorder. It’s important for your health and well-being that you seek treatment if you believe you may suffer from the disorder.

Many treatment options are as simple as making lifestyle changes or using a CPAP machine while you sleep. As technology advances, treatment options are continuing to develop and expand. CPAP machines are more portable and convenient than ever. There are also a number of other devices that can be used to treat your sleep apnea. Depending on your exact situation, you and your doctor can work together to determine exactly which treatment options are going to work best for you and your lifestyle.

If you have any questions about how sleep apnea affects your health or treatment options, please contact Mark Levy DDS at (614) 777-7350.