Got Sleep Apnea? Go Green, as in Green Tea

If you find yourself having the proverbial brain freeze at work all too often, and you know you suffer from sleep apnea (or think you do because you just can't feel rested after a long night's sleep), then listen up: it's time to reach for the green tea.

More than 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes your airway to collapse during sleep. If you're among those millions, then each night your breathing essentially gets cut off multiple times, and so does that restful sleep. Untreated sufferers of sleep apnea never feel fully rested, which can result in chronic sleep deprivation that can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

You could have apnea if:

• You snore
• You wake up with a headache
• You're moody most days
• You are tired to the point of falling asleep
• You have constant congestion
• Someone has seen you stop breathing

But there's some good news to report: chemicals found in green tea may be able to prevent some of the cognitive problems that can happen with obstructive sleep apnea.

Green Tea Can Help Your Memory

Cognitive problems, you're wondering? That's right, sleep apnea isn't just about missing out on a few breaths of air through the night. All those intermittent moments of oxygen deprivation add up, and your body isn't able to reach a level of sleep that is restorative--where the brain can essentially re-boot itself and prepare for the next day when it will need to learn new things, solve problems, and tap its memory card.

Other Benefits of Green Tea and Polyphenols

The benefits of green tea don't end with the brain boost, though. The researchers who discovered this recently also confirmed what we already know about the positive effects green tea can have on us. Its rich supply of polyphenols acts as a powerful antioxidant to help tame the flames of inflammation and oxidative stress--two big agers in the body.

So yes, green tea may help you beat sleep apnea deficits, but the bonus is you can give yourself a good dose of anti-aging ingredients, too.

Green Tea and Weight Loss

In a recent post, I talked about ways to lose weight (so you can sleep better at night). Nixing sugar-laden drinks is an easy way to steer clear of a boatload of unnecessary calories.

Regardless of whether or not you suffer from sleep apnea, give green tea a try for a week. Switch out your sodas and juices for a thermos of hot or cold green tea. Sip on it all day and avoid other drinks (don't worry, tea is also a source of water).

At the end of the week, check in with yourself: do you feel sharper-minded and maybe a pound or two lighter?

What I'd like to know is if other sources of polyphenols can also be as effective. These include berries, beer, grapes (including wine), olive oil, chocolate/cocoa, walnuts, peanuts, pomegranates, yerba mate, and other fruits and vegetables.

One thing is for sure: drinking green tea is something you can do all day long (try de-caff in the afternoons). Not sure the same could be said for the other polyphenol friends.

This post is cross-posted at Dr. Breus's blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Comments

[Moose49]

I like the taste of green tea and I'm willing to accept that it has all the benefits you talk about, but it's hard to believe that drinking it is a legitimate substitute for actually getting sleep apnea diagnosed by a medical professional and then getting it properly treated by using CPAP. Plus, if you drink it too close to bedtime, the caffeine will probably keep you awake anyway.

[rangerlady]

I don't think he's saying green tea is a substitute for getting treatment for apnea. It's just that if you're still feeling the "sleeplessness hangover" (with or without your CPAP), green tea may perk you up and keep your mind functioning in the short term.

[dbartenstein]

Better Idea.... See a doctor to have a sleep evaluation, lose weight, and get a CPAP. I have sleep apnea and those three things will do much more for you than all the green tea in the world.

[Atticus]

I have sleep apnea and have been on cpap for 14 years.

I'd LOVE to try your green tea program (which I've read *is*effective), but I haven't found a beer brewer who has mastered adding green tea to its ingredients to the level where they can advertise a "green tea beer".

Would we call it "green beer"? Going "green" is fashionable today!

Hop on it, brewers! (pun intended)

cc: Slyme, Grabber & Grede LLC