According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. The word “apnea” literally means without breath in Greek. Although sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age – even children, most are men, over the age of 40, who are overweight. Your sleep is fragmented as a result of waking throughout the night, causing you to be fatigued throughout the day. You are also more likely to be irritable and unable to concentrate as the lack of sleep has profound effects.
Insomnia in men resulting from low testosterone and sleep apnea can lead to several other problems including fatigue, reduced insulin sensitivity, low human growth hormone levels and high cortisol levels. Cortisol, the stress hormone, will increase with prolonged insomnia because of the stress on the body. Constant high levels of cortisol can create a hormone pattern that further reduces testosterone production. It can also lead to adrenal fatigue which often worsens the fatigue and insomnia.
Human growth hormone is naturally made during the first 90 minutes of sleep. Therefore, if your sleep is disrupted, your growth hormone production is reduced. This can lead to lower levels of testosterone and reduced lean muscle mass. Sleep is also very important for proper insulin sensitivity and glucose control. If sleep is disrupted, the body stops utilizing insulin as effectively and the body begins to need more and more insulin to control blood sugar. This leads to weight gain and a pre-diabetic state that, if not well managed, can lead to diabetes.
Could you have sleep apnea?
Dr. Michael Grossman of BodyLogicMD of Irvine discusses the connectino between hormones and sleep apnea:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aydq6x-RNAc]
Resources and more information:
http://www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id=7http://www.rtmagazine.com/issues/articles/2005-06_04.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFzQvHqihY
http://www.sleepapnea.org/awake/index.html
http://www.apneasupport.org/index.php?sid=c186ded7890baa6f7213e04a2f6d2fea