Dear Reader,
Maybe you snore when you sleep, or have a partner who does (a very loud French bulldog in my case).
But either way, you know what a nighttime nuisance it can be.
If you’re like lots of people, you may have ignored your snoring for years – or just figured it was an annoying side effect of deep sleep.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case…
Snoring can be a major warning sign of a serious condition called sleep apnea, where your airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep.
And unless you take care of it quickly, snoring could put you on a collision course with one of America’s top killers — type 2 diabetes.
Don’t Ignore Your Snore
A new study published in the journal Sleep Medicine collected sleep study data on 1,453 people. Their average age of the participants was 63 years and none of them had diabetes at the beginning of the study.
Participants were separated into four different groups based on their sleep study results — normal sleepers or having mild, moderate or severe sleep apnea. After a 13-year study period, the researchers found that 285 folks developed Type 2 diabetes.
But what was more surprising…
The study revealed that sleep apnea could increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by a whopping 70 percent!
And this wasn’t the first study to find a connection between sleep apnea and diabetes. Experts recommend that folks who have diabetes be screened for sleep apnea and vice versa — especially if you snore.
Snoring isn’t the only clue that you may suffer from sleep apnea. Other symptoms include daytime tiredness, morning headaches, irritability and sudden awakenings followed by a shortness of breath.
There are treatments like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) that can make a big difference in controlling sleep apnea. Some doctors also recommend elevating the head of your bed to reduce snoring and open airways.
In addition, obesity increases your risk of developing both sleep apnea and diabetes. So get out this weekend and take a walk. This will help you keep a healthy weight, which is a great step to take if you want to avoid either condition.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
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