Does sleep apnea cause memory loss?

Sleep plays a significant role in your memory, and not getting enough can damage it. Your body needs to repair itself on a daily basis, which happens during sleep. When you have sleep apnea you temporarily stop breathing at night, and when your body senses this, it sends a “WAKE UP!” signal to your brain.

During sleep your actual physical body is at rest, but there are a lot of critical tasks going on behind the scenes. Not only is your body repairing itself, but it is also taking time to help you download and absorb what happened during the day – making memories.

Some memories can be absorbed during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the stage where you dream. Most of the serious repair and downloading takes place during the deeper stages of sleep. If you keep waking up all night, which can happen as many as hundreds of times a night if you suffer from severe sleep apnea, you will not fall into the deep sleep stages. Your body will not get the support it needs to help you store all of the many memories you made throughout the day. Never underestimate the power that sleep can have on your physical and mental health.