{"id":47,"date":"2024-03-18T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evolutiondentalpdx.com\/blog\/?p=47"},"modified":"2024-04-18T16:03:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T16:03:43","slug":"does-sleep-apnea-make-you-age-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evolutiondentalpdx.com\/blog\/?p=47","title":{"rendered":"Can Sleep Apnea Make You Age Faster?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In their quest to remain youthful, many people do things like exercise, eat a balanced diet, use luxurious skincare products, and more. Sadly, those, some of those individuals do not care for one aspect of their health that can have a big impact on how quickly they age \u2014 their sleep. Research suggests<\/a> that sleep disordered breathing (SDB), such as what occurs in people with sleep apnea, can speed up the aging process. This blog post discusses important points from that research and touches on some signs that you should seek treatment for sleep apnea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Disordered Breathing and Biological Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, age is measured according to the number of years that have passed since a person\u2019s birth. That is known as chronological age. <\/strong>However, there is another type of age that is even more relevant to health: biological age, <\/strong>which is basically a measurement of how old your body seems <\/em>based on an analysis of how your genes are functioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study published in 2019 gathered data from more than 600 participants. It determined that SDB can speed up the biological aging process. Although this problem was more noticeable in women than in men, both sexes showed signs of increased aging. The more severe the disordered breathing, the greater the impact on biological age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lead author of the 2019 study mentioned above, Dr. Xiaoyu Li, noted, \u201cOur data highlight the potential for sleep-disordered breathing treatment to improve age-related chronic conditions and longevity.\u201d In other words, improving the quality of your sleep might slow down or even slightly reverse your biological age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Well Are You Sleeping?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How can you tell if you should seek treatment for nighttime breathing problems? Here are some signs that you might have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is one of the most common causes of SDB:<\/p>\n\n\n\n