Sleep Apnea and Weight Gain: How and Why the Nexus Is So Strong

At first, when you hear about the close link between sleep apnea and weight gain, you are taken by surprise. After all, one is a serious sleep disorder and the other a matter of the state of your health. How can they ever be related? Yet, the most important aspect of the link-up is that while one exists because of the other, sleep apnea cannot be treated unless it is preceded by immediate weight loss. Before you get confused any further, let us explain the rationale behind the nexus between sleep apnea and weight gain: • Sleep apnea, one of the most serious and distressful sleep disorders, usually affects obese individuals, especially those who snore. • One of the predominant clinical symptoms of sleep apnea is rapid weight gain. • Sleep apnea does not allow the victim to enjoy deep restorative sleep; this adversely affects appetite and the result is weight gain. • Sleep apnea and weight gain have another link. Apnea interferes with two appetite-related hormones – Grehlin and Leptin. Any imbalance in the production and assimilation of these hormones result in increased appetite and subsequently weight gain. Sleep apnea and weight gain: how does it all start? Sleep apnea, of which obstructive sleep apnea is the most common variety, is usually a result of neglected snoring. Of the various causes of snoring, deviated septum, an anatomical defect is most common. The link between deviated septum and sleep apnea is established when deviated septum narrows one nostril more than the other creating a host of breathing problems including snoring, chronic sinusitis, etc. Snoring when left untreated for a long time, results in obstructive sleep apnea, a condition marked by a complete collapse and blockage of the upper respiratory tract. Diagnosis of sleep apnea begins with the patient reporting the typical clinical symptoms including rapid weight gain, loud and persistent snoring, excessive daytime tiredness, etc. Doctors then do a sleep apnea test, medically called polysomnogram, to locate the site of obstruction, degree of severity of the condition and mark the degree of sleep disturbance caused by the condition. Sleep apnea and weight gain: how the therapy begins Depending on the results confirmed by the sleep apnea test, doctors initially try out some non-invasive and non-surgical treatment options like using sleep apnea pillows, etc. Sleep apnea pillows are specially designed pillows to minimize snoring, but re-aligning the head, neck, spine and shoulders during sleep, so that the nasal passage is kept as clear as possible of obstructions. However if the septal deviation is significant, doctors are compelled to think surgery to treat the condition. There are several surgical options to treat obstructive sleep apnea, of which the FDA-approved somnoplasty procedure is perhaps most popular. The somnoplasty procedure uses the radiofrequency tissue ablation (RFTA) technology, where ablation means removal and repair. Over and above recommending rapid weight loss in order to break the nexus between sleep apnea and weight gain, the surgery stiffens and reduces the volume of obstructive tissues blocking the air passage. It also rectifies and repositions the deviated septum, so that the septal deviation is rectified and the patient breathes normally once again.