The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Nightmares The body experiences a lot of stress when it doesn't have enough oxygen, and that stress can end up manifesting in your dreams. Not only are sleep apnea nightmares more vivid than normal, but they also tend to grow more unpleasant as the disorder becomes more severe.
Common types of nightmares for those with apnea include dreams about strangulation and choking, dreams about trying to breathe while underwater or in space, and dreams about clogged pipes and being stuck in a an elevator.
People with sleep apnea might also suffer from unexplained fatigue and mood swings, because their breathing interruptions continually wake them and prevent them from settling into a deep, nourishing sleep.
REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia. A parasomnia involves undesired events that happen while sleeping. RBD occurs when you act out vivid dreams as you sleep. These dreams are often filled with action.
People with sleep apnea, however, can have dozens of micro-awakenings during the night as they snore, snort or gasp for breath. The constant interruption makes if difficult to get enough deep sleep and progress onto the final stage, called rapid eye movement or REM sleep, where dreams occur.
Recent research, published in an article on how Sleep Apnea Affects REM Sleep, also showed how OSA-induced REM sleep disruption can affect spatial memory even when other sleep stages are intact. This type of memory loss is similar to those with Alzheimer's disease.
Because sleep apnea messes with your breathing during sleep, that drop in oxygen as you're dreaming can cause disturbing and vivid dreams, says Dr. Rosenberg.
Everyone has vivid dreams occasionally. Any number of things, from pregnancy to stress, can contribute to vivid dreams. Substance misuse, medication side effects, or even an underlying sleep disorder may play a role. In most cases, vivid dreams will go away on their own.
During REM sleep, your brain processes your emotions and experiences and organizes them into long-term memories. This may be why these turbulent dreams occur. While vivid dreams are normal, they shouldn't affect how you feel during the day.
For some, dreams are an escape from the physical limitations of life with multiple sclerosis. Others experience something different when they go to bed. Good or bad, the dreams and nightmares tend to have one thing in common: They are extremely vivid.
Sleep Apnea FAQs
The life expectancy of a patient with sleep apnea who is under 50 years old is between 8 and 18 years. If patients receive the treatment they are likely to live longer, with fewer excess health complications than those who do not receive treatment.
More than usual daytime sleepiness. Waking up with a dry throat or headache. Waking up often during the night. Difficulty concentrating or mood changes during the day.
People who have sleep apnea can wake up 15 to 25 times an hour during sleep – without knowing it. The condition causes them to awaken for only a few seconds, but leaves the sufferer feeling exhausted, even after a full night's rest.
The study randomly assigned 86 CPAP users to 3 months of CPAP therapy followed by 3 months of sham CPAP therapy, or vice versa. The results showed a significant BMI decrease in CPAP users compared with sham therapy users and a reversal of metabolic syndrome among some users.
The first stage of sleep apnea is benign snoring. Benign snoring is often harmless, but it can be an indication that sleep apnea will develop in the future. Benign snoring should be monitored, making sure the condition does not become consistent, very loud, or start disrupting sleep.
Stress, anxiety, and trauma: If you're experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, or post-traumatic stress disorder, you may be more susceptible to vivid bad dreams. 5. Substance abuse: Vivid dreams may result from the use of drugs and alcohol.
Dreams do not typically negatively impact sleep, but nightmares can. The way they influence sleep is that it can make it more difficult to fall asleep and cause difficulty in moving between sleep cycles. 2 This can make a person drowsier during the day.
Some dreams are really weird. Even the really weird dreams may just be part of the brain's process of elimination-approach to problem solving, according to Stickgold. A lot of memory processing happens during sleep, he says. The brain is filing away new memories, deciding which ones to store and which ones not to.
Healthy dreaming may be indicative of quality sleep that facilitates sharper thinking, better mood, and overall health. People who remember their dreams often show higher levels of creativity. View Source .
“Side sleeping with your back mostly straight is the best sleep position as it reduces apnea severity and snoring,” Dr. Knobbe said. It can also help keep your spine in proper alignment, although it can put additional strain on your shoulders, hips and spine.
As you adjust to your new sleep cycle, the dreams will probably taper off. However, you may find that you still dream more than you did before you sought treatment for your sleep apnea.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep that's interrupted five to 15 times per hour is defined as mild sleep apnea. Fifteen to 30 so-called “events” are rated as moderate sleep apnea, and the presence of more than 30 events per night is classified as severe sleep apnea.
Can an Apple Watch Detect Sleep Apnea? Like Fitbit and other wearables, the Apple Watch can detect certain parameters like heart rate and blood oxygen saturation that may indicate sleep apnea, but it cannot comprehensively detect or diagnose sleep apnea.