Posted by LostBoyinNCBecksDark on December 31, 2007, at 21:43:27
The stopping of breathing while sleeping due to obstructive sleep apnea creates a "fight or flight" reaction in your body. This reaction causes adrenalin to be released during your sleep and can cause you to feel crappy during the daytime. Correcting sleep apnea via CPAP can restore normal breathing while asleep, eliminating these "fight or flight" episodes thus eliminating excess adrenalin release.
"Dr. Botros said that although it is not known exactly what the link is between sleep apnea and diabetes, it is thought that sleep apnea activates the body's fight-or-flight response. This triggers a cascade of events, including the production of high levels of the hormone cortisol..."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070520183530.htm
"The repetitive decrease in oxygen that occurs during the night in someone with sleep apnea heightens the body's 'fight or flight' state, which can raise blood pressure," explains researcher Hatim Youssef, D.O. of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "The body also secretes more hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine, and the body responds by producing more glucose coupled with a decreased sensitivity to insulin, which can lead to diabetes."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522151431.htm
Common sense can tell you that when your body releases large amounts of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline while asleep, that this can cause or exacerbate psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Why isnt psychiatry paying more attention to sleep medicine and formally integrating sleep medicine into its training programs for psychiatrists?
Eric
poster:LostBoyinNCBecksDark
thread:803506
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071225/msgs/803506.html