Sleep Apnea Damages Your Brain and Memory - AI Podcast

Story at-a-glance Sleep apnea, especially during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, causes oxygen drops that damage small brain vessels and raise dementia risk, often before cognitive symptoms become noticeable New research links REM-specific oxygen loss to white matter lesions and entorhinal cortex thinning, two key markers of early neurodegeneration in aging and Alzheimer’s disease Standard apnea scores like apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) often miss these deeper risks because they don’t measure oxygen depth or track when during sleep the damage occurs Long-term studies confirm that even mild, untreated apnea accelerates brain aging and disproportionately increases dementia risk in women compared to men Treatments like breathing machines, oral devices, and lifestyle changes reduce apnea severity and help preserve brain health by ensuring proper oxygen delivery during sleep