More men than women report snoring more than five nights a week.

Men and women with obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk for serious depression. A nationwide survey revealed that men diagnosed with sleep apnea had 2 times the risk of depression, while women had 5 times the risk. Simple snoring did not increase the risk, but snorting or stopping breathing five or more nights per week tripled the risk for both men and women. The resulting episodic lack of oxygen to specific areas of the brain may help explain these findings.

PositiveTip: Healthy sleep is as essential as good nutrition and physical activity. Get a check-up if you are not sleeping well.

Overweight children who snore may suffer from learning difficulties.

Overweight children aged 10-16 years old with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) often have difficulties with attention span, and suffer increased depression and anxiety. This study found that 30% of students with moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) received a grade “C” or below, while only 15% of students without obstructive sleep apnea received a C or lower. Conversely, 15% of students without obstructive sleep apnea received an “A”, while none of the students with obstructive sleep apnea received an “A”.

Sleep apnea may be the result of how much fat is in your diet.

A growing body of evidence points to insulin resistance in humans as one cause of sleep apnea. When researchers fed nonobese rats a high-fat diet they developed insulin resistance and sleep apnea.  A second group of rats fed the same diet but given metformin (which increases insulin receptor sensitivity), prevented the elevated insulin levels and the sleep apnea.

PositiveTip: Choose a lowfat diet and keep the saturated fats to a minimum, especially from animal sources.

Source: http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v15/n6/full/oby2007169a.html

Sleep apnea is significantly improved by simple mouth exercises.

A set of simple exercises designed to strengthen upper airway muscles shows significant promise as an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for those with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Brazilian researchers studied 31 patients with moderate OSA.