You know many people “crash out” around 3 PM ET, but lately, you’re tired right after breakfast. Is it the food you’re eating? Maybe, but you’ve been eating well, and yet, you’re exhausted. And that extra weight you’re trying to lose, well it hasn’t budged. So, what gives?
You might be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and living with obesity or pre-obesity. Most people understand that if you are overweight, it may negatively impact your sleep. And to many, this is common sense because OSA is caused by the airway becoming repeatedly blocked during sleep, leading to paused breathing and oxygen deprivation. Often that air blockage is caused by a collapse of throat tissues, and those carrying extra weight are more prone to it. In fact, about 63% of men and 22% of women who are living with obesity also suffer from OSA. Again, this makes sense and for most is easy to understand the correlation.
Here is Dr. Linda Anegawa, the Chief of Metabolic and Obesity Care at Ognomy Sleep to share more with you on this important topic.
How Obstructive Sleep Apnea Impacts Weight
What tends to be less understood, and under-discussed as a result, is that this is unfortunately a bidirectional relationship. Those who suffer from OSA often have a much harder time losing or maintaining weight if they want to. So, what’s happening?
Well, a few things and speaking honestly, none are healthy for you.
- Hormonal Changes – people who suffer from OSA can have lower levels of leptin. Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that acts on the hypothalamus in the brain to regulate appetite. In short, it helps you feel full or satiated. Sleep deprivation can lead to lower levels of leptin being produced in your body, which in-turn can make you feel more hungry, more often.
- Metabolism Impact – those with OSA can suffer an array of abnormalities ranging from insulin resistance to challenges with fat regulation. Disrupted sleep and intermittent hypoxia can wreak havoc on your body’s ability to perform crucial functions that occur during healthy sleep that promote a well-regulated metabolism. With your metabolism suffering, so too can your weight loss or weight maintenance goals.
- You’re Simply Doing Less – you’re constantly fatigued, so you skip the gym, or the walk with your dog, or the afternoon gardening you had planned. You’re legitimately tired and your lack of energy expenditure further deteriorates your ability to maintain a healthy weight.
The Very Hard Truths of Living with OSA + Obesity
People suffering from both OSA and obesity or pre-obesity face increased risk of a list of serious health challenges ranging from a higher risk for heart attack via higher blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, a higher risk of stroke, of type 2 diabetes, vision loss from glaucoma, onsets of asthma and depression, and several other serious and chronic conditions.
So yes, OSA and obesity are indeed linked and as one ailment worsens, it can make it more difficult to combat the other.
Breaking the Cycle From Both Sides
Just as it is more common knowledge that obesity contributes to poor sleep health, more of the population is aware that sleep apnea treatments, such as the use of CPAP machines, which provides a continuous flow of positive air pressure, are now in wide use.
Less of the population is aware that the FDA has recently approved Zepbound® (tirzepatide) for the treatment of moderate to severe OSA in adults with obesity.
From the linked fda.gov article: Zepbound works by activating receptors of hormones secreted from the intestine (glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)) to reduce appetite and food intake. By reducing body weight, studies show that Zepbound also improves OSA.
What Care is Right for You?
Now that you are aware of the dangerous duet posed by OSA and obesity, what course of care is best for you? That is a conversation to have with your doctor or sleep specialist.
Ognomy Sleep is focused on simplifying sleep apnea care through modern technology so everyone has access to stellar sleep apnea care, right from the comfort of their home.
If you think you suffer from sleep apnea or sleep apnea with obesity or pre-obesity, we encourage you to find out if Ognomy Sleep is right for you or to schedule a telehealth visit today.
