How Obstructive Sleep Apnea Can Cause Weight Gain

If you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you’re probably very aware of the impact it can have on how you feel throughout the day. Waking up in the morning is always a challenge, and it’s difficult for you to focus at work while you’re yawning all day. These effects are pretty well known, but did you know it could also be affecting your weight? It’s true! Today, we’re going to share how sleep apnea can sabotage your diet and make you pack on the pounds even if you diet and exercise regularly.

1. It slows down your metabolism

Sleep deprivation is dangerous, and it’s the most common symptom of sleep apnea. It’s so dangerous, in fact, that driving while sleep deprived is actually almost as bad as driving drunk. People who are sleep deprived are twice as likely to get into an accident! In addition to your energy and concentration levels, it can also affect something else that is extremely important: your metabolism. After just 4 days of sleep deprivation, your body becomes much more insulin (your fat storage hormone) resistant.

Why is this bad? When you’re more insulin resistant, your body doesn’t remove fatty acids and lipids from your bloodstream as effectively, and this can cause fat to be stored in places such as your liver. This in turn, can cause you to gain weight and even develop diseases like diabetes.

2. It makes you crave food

When you feel hungry or satisfied after eating a meal, both of those feelings are actually dictated by hormones. These hormones are leptin, which lets you know that you’re full, and ghrelin, which lets you know that you’re hungry (it also influences your metabolism). If you’re regularly missing sleep because of sleep apnea, both of these hormones are completely thrown off balance, which can make you feel hungry all the time regardless of how much you’re eating. That means despite whatever will power you’re trying to muster when it comes to your diet, your brain is literally fighting against you. Even worse, when these hormones are off, it tends to make people crave foods that are more calorie dense, such as sugary snacks. Even the most disciplined person can’t fight their own brain!

3. It saps your energy to exercise

Who has the energy to get up in the morning and workout when you’ve barely slept all night? In addition to helping you burn calories, regular exercise can also serve as a stress reliever, which is excellent because excess stress causes people to gain weight due to another hormone called cortisol. When you aren’t sleeping well, it’s almost impossible to keep up any kind of consistent routine.

What You Can Do

Whether you’re actively trying to lose weight or not, these side effects of sleep apnea can severely impact your health, quality of life, and even be deadly over the long term. If you suffer from OSA, you should seek out sleep apnea treatment as soon as possible.

To get started, all you need to do is contact your primary care physician and let them know that you are having sleep issues. From there, they’ll recommend you to a sleep doctor who can diagnose your condition and help you get the treatment you need. Once you’re sleeping well, you’ll be amazed at how much energy you’ll have and how easily the pounds will come off!

About the Author

Dr. Kenneth Mogell is a sleep dentist based in Melbourne, FL, and he successfully treats thousands of patients for OSA every year using simple, custom-made mouthguards. He currently practices at Florida Dental Sleep Disorders, and he can be reached via his website or by phone at (321) 313-5350.