Treat Your Sleep Apnoea and Look Younger

Sleep apnoea is dangerous. Its symptoms include frequent loud snoring, cessation of breathing during sleep, choking episodes during sleep, morning headaches, depression, frequent trips to the bathroom during the night, sore throat, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, high blood pressure and reduced sex drive. However, recent findings have also revealed that sleep apnoea also leads to faster aging and decline. New research indicates that effectively treating sleep apnoea with CPAP therapy results in patients looking younger and more attractive.

An article from http://www.huffingtonpost.com has revealed several findings that conclude that treatment of sleep apnoea can indeed make you look younger. In this study, researchers at the University of Michigan examined the impact of CPAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea on patients' facial appearance, and found noticeable -- and measurable -- improvements after consistent use of CPAP. The study included 20 adults, 14 men and six women, all of whom had obstructive sleep apnoea. Researchers took highly detailed three-dimensional images of participants' faces, both before CPAP treatment began and again after two months of regular use of CPAP. Researchers then asked a group of 22 volunteers to assess both the before- and after-treatment images. For each sleep apnoea patient, volunteers were asked to identify what they believed was the post-treatment image, as well as to compare and rate the before-and-after pictures for alertness, youthfulness and attractiveness. Researchers also used 3-D imaging to measure several aspects of appearance, including facial redness and forehead surface volume.

The results revealed the following:

• Image analysis showed that after two months of CPAP treatment, facial redness around the eyes and cheeks had diminished.

• Forehead surface area had also decreased after two months of CPAP, a finding that researchers suggested may be attributed to changes in fluid circulation at night.

• The results were compatible with an earlier Swedish study by some members of the same research team which found that sleep-deprived people were perceived by others as less healthy and less attractive than well-rested people.

• The same researchers found out that sleep-deprived people were observed to have redder and more swollen eyes, hanging eyelids and darker circles under the eyes, as well as more wrinkles and paler skin.

• Sleep-deprived people also looked sadder than those who were well rested.

• Another study by cosmetics manufacturer Estée Lauder and conducted by scientists at Cleveland's University Hospital's Case Medical Center found that people who slept poorly showed greater signs of skin aging, including more fine lines, uneven pigmentation, and diminished skin elasticity.

• Poor sleepers also took longer to recover from sunburns and other environmental and stress-related skin damage.

• Sufficient amounts of high-quality sleep are critical for cell rejuvenation as well as for healthy immune function.

• One important way that sleep promotes cell restoration and provides a boost to the immune system is through the release of the body's own natural growth hormones. These hormones play a powerful role in stimulating the immune system and in promoting cellular repair as well as new cell growth.

• Poor sleep, and sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea, diminish both sleep quantity and sleep quality, and can interfere with the body's ability to rejuvenate cells and bolster immune function.

Read more here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michael-j-breus/treating-sleep-apnoea_b_4109379.html

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