More and more there are studies which are beginning to show a correlation between sleep apnea and attention deficit disorder (ADD). Some experts believe that most people who suffer from sleep apnea also exhibit ADD, but whether this is due to the effects of the apnea on their overall quality of sleep or simply goes hand-in-hand with it due to other causes is unknown.
Sleep apnea is characterized by a series of brief but numerous involuntary breathing pauses which occur during sleep. In obstructive sleep apnea, air passage is blocked during sleep by the person's tongue and other soft tissues. Many people with sleep apnea are snorers. As soft tissues block the airway, the body has to work harder to pull air in, and the increase in pressure can make the upper airway collapse so air cannot flow at all into the lungs, although the body's efforts to breathe continue.
Breathing stops for a period of several seconds to well over a minute, and the levels of oxygen in the blood may drop during these episodes. When a person's blood oxygen levels fall too low, the brain wakes the person up enough to tighten the muscles around the upper airways to open them enough for air to flow through again. This arousal is so brief that the person is likely to not even remember it. The repeated arousals of these breathing pauses lead to awakenings is their bodies try to breathe, People with sleep apnea find it impossible to enjoy a night of deep, restorative sleep. Sufferers often feel sleepy during the day and their concentration and daytime performance usually suffer significantly. People who are overweight are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea, because fat around the neck makes it harder for the throat to stay open, but size is not always an indicator. Skinny people have also been diagnosed as having obstructive sleep apnea.
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is characterized by an inability to concentrate in social situations like school, behavior problems, mood swings, and lower performance in daily tasks such as school work, chores, or other situations where focus and concentration are essential. While usually diagnosed in childhood, later in life adults are also identified as suffering from the disease.
Children who are sleep deprived may often be misdiagnosed as having ADD, since these deficits can lead to behavioral problems and lowered daytime performance accompanied by mood disorders. When those suffering from chronic sleep disorders were tested, researchers reported lower scores in areas like vocabulary tests, school work, and showed a decrease in their ability to concentrate. Researchers have also hypothesized that continued sleep deprivation in infants and children could well lead to delayed development resulting in lower IQ scores.
Since, arguably, people who suffer from sleep apnea can show signs very similar to those found in attention deficit disorder, is important that the person or child be carefully evaluated by a trained health care professional. In many cases once the underlying sleep apnea is treated, the person is able to sleep better in many signs and symptoms which can be attributed to ADD disappear completely.
There are no studies available which currently list "sleep apnea attention deficit disorder" as a disorder unto itself. Nor have any research groups done more than link the two together in the course of the research, citing one as a possible causative or companion of the other. For this reason, medically speaking, the two disorders should be considered as separate entities, especially when trying to evaluate a person for one or both diseases. To do so might be true disservice to the person who needs treatment.
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