Sleep Apnea has been hit for affecting many parts of the human body and apparently a new study points to cognitive functions as possibly being affected as well. This covers the gray area of the brain which could affect the attention and memory of a human being.

The claim points to possibly lack of air where people who have sleep apnea may possibly stop breathing.

A small Italian study of 17 patients with OSA and 15 age-matched controls found reduced gray matter in the OSA group in several key regions of the brain connected with abstract reasoning and executive function, along with deficits in the left cortex, which were shown to be linked to daytime sleepiness.

However, the brain changes are partially or fully reversible with early detection and treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

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For sure most of you drink coffee. Though you may not be the coffee drinking addict, it remains that some people would be offered in coffee stores like Starbucks “Regular” or “Decaf”? Especially if you are visiting them in the night, normally we have this belief that decaf will not bother us that much when it comes to sleeping when we get home. Or does it?

Coffee is still coffee. While drinking decaf is supposed to have lower caffeine content, an element that is supposed to keep us awake, it seems that it doesn’t matter. For one, being awake would depend not only on what we consume but also in our overall state.

For example, if we have had a rigorous day and our bodies are really about to collapse on us, you can be assured that not even coffee can keep us awake. We may end up telling ourselves that we would take a nap but sooner than you know it, you may be surprised to find that you have slept practically the regular sleeping hours one is expected to get.

The fact of the matter here is that whatever type of coffee, regardless if it is decaf or not, may not necessarily have a factor. It can keep you awake, but if your body is not up to it rest assured you will give in to sleep.

According to Tom Round, vice president of the product’s maker, Silver Lake Research, 25 of the 100 decaf samples the biotech firm tested during the research phase had too-high caffeine levels.

Not great news for decaf drinkers. But then again, recent research has linked caffeine consumption to a host of health benefits, such as improved cognitive function and sharper aerobic capacity. And a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine linked coffee consumption to a longer life span.

(Source) Sun Times

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Sleep deprivation is an abuse we lash at our bodies. Without rest, we find ourselves opening a door for all illnesses and diseases to come in which if contracted may place us in living shorter. Medical intervention in the form of specialists and pills are great but they still cannot guarantee if our lives will last longer because of them. Sleeping is still the most important part of living healthy and making our body function properly.

“We spend – or should spend – a third of our lives sleeping,” says Amita Sehgal, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

“The idea that so much time is spent in sleep is intriguing. Also, sleep deprivation has serious health consequences and impairs cognitive function.”

(Source) One India

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