Snoring Does more Than just Keeping your Family Awake

Recently, I came across this article that discussed about an interesting study associating diabetes and an unlikely and an often-overlooked risk—breathing during sleep. Specifically, Dr. Sarah Farabi’s continuing research is looking at the link between breathing problems like gasping for air or snoring during sleep and possible increases in blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. From physiology and biochemistry, we know that stress responses mobilize the sympathetic nervous system to aid in the fight-or-flight response. Cholinergic receptor activations in the muscle,  b1 adrenergic receptor stimulation in the heart, and increased blood glucose levels are some examples in which our body biologically prepares for any threat. When frequent awakenings occur during the night (from snoring or other breathing disruptions), oxygen levels drop which trigger a stress response.

What does this mean for us in the larger context? Obesity and diabetes is an unfortunate reality of our society that not only has implications for the individuals themselves but also the children of these at-risk individuals. Dr. Farabi’s focus is on women who are considered overweight or obese. The article notes that an estimated 50% of all women in the US will become obese by the time they are pregnant. Furthermore, this makes them more vulnerable to sleep apnea or other sleep disturbances. We are all aware of the impact that a mom’s health has on the baby. When it comes to gestational diabetes, it can lead to increased baby weight and severe complications during pregnancy.

Because of this, it is imperative that gestational diabetes be diagnosed during pregnancy so that dietary and nutritional changes can be implemented. Even if they may pass the gestational diabetes test, glucose regulation may still be altered because of an unrecognized sleeping disorder. Hopefully, Dr. Farabi’s research will inspire interventions for pregnant women with breathing anomalies during sleep and improve the outcomes of their children, and hopefully, the rest of society. I do want to take this one step further by posing another concern. In this day and age, stress is the norm. This stress can lead to altered sleep. With this in mind, can disrupted sleep pose increased risks for women who are not pregnant as well as their potential child in the future when they do decide to have children? This may be a blog post for another day. In the words of Dr. Campisi, more research needs to be done.

https://www.uchealth.org/today/2017/10/11/study-awakens-interest-in-pregnancy-diabetes-links/?utm_source=UCHealth%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pregnancy%2c%20sleep%2c%20diabetes&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Maria+Menounos++brain+tumor+RX+%2B+Amputation+avoided&utm_campaign=10/26+External