Scientists from the laboratory of somnology and neurophysiology of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Scientific Center for Problems of Family Health and Human Reproduction” in Irkutsk have discovered that sleep disorders (for example, snoring) cause changes in brain function that indicate premature aging. The Ministry of Education and Science told socialbites.ca about this.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) is accompanied by pauses in breathing, partial constriction of airflow, and often snoring. Scientists from Irkutsk analyzed the brain activity of patients with and without OSA during sleep using polysomnography and electroencephalography (EEG).
They found that the frequent drops in blood oxygen levels and sleep fragmentation that are characteristic of OSA lead to a significant disruption in the density, number and frequency of “sleep spindles,” the brain’s specialized rhythms during the slow-wave sleep phase. They promote sleep induction and sleep maintenance by suppressing sensory input and also play a role in memory formation, neuroplasticity, general intelligence and cognition. The described disorders cause a marked decrease in sleep efficiency, followed by impaired brain function and premature aging.
“According to some estimates, the incidence of OSA has increased by 30 percent in the last 20 years. A recent large-scale epidemiological study shows a high prevalence of OSA in the general population: 34% of men and 17% of women suffer from OSA of varying severity. OSA-related problems lead to deterioration in quality of life due to the observed lack of sustained attention and psychomotor control, work accidents and traffic accidents. Therefore, close attention to sleep homeostasis is one of the priorities of scientific research in modern somnology,” Irina Mikhailovna Madaeva, head of the somnology and neurophysiology laboratory of the Scientific Center for Human Health and Human Rehabilitation of the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Medical Sciences, told socialbites.ca.
The resulting data will allow doctors to use nighttime EEG monitoring during sleep to identify brain dysfunction and premature aging in patients with sleep disorders. Researchers plan to continue research to evaluate the relationship between sleep disorders, neurocognitive activity, and emotional and personality traits.
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