Does Sleep Apnea Cause Weight Gain? Here’s What You Need to Know

Struggling to lose weight despite your best efforts to eat well and exercise? Poor quality sleep could be to blame.

Sleep is essential for good health, yet 1 in 3 adults don’t get the recommended 7+ hours each night. This chronic lack of sleep can negatively impact your well-being, making it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight.

Research shows that getting enough quality sleep is crucial for reducing weight and maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI).

An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep apnea, with many cases going undiagnosed. Unchecked sleep apnea can lead to chronic disease, injury, mental health problems, and overall poorer quality of life.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea, affecting an estimated 10-30% of U.S. adults. While it’s often caused by a narrowed airway, obesity is a major contributing factor. If left untreated, sleep apnea leads to a vicious cycle of weight gain and worsening symptoms, making it difficult to resolve on your own.

So, what is the connection between sleep apnea and weight gain, and how can you break the cycle? Let’s explore how sleep apnea affects your body and why addressing it could be the key to achieving your weight loss goals.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is classified as a serious sleep disorder that causes breathing to start and stop repeatedly and abnormally.

There are three main types:

1. Obstructive sleep apnea
   This is the most common type of the condition. It occurs when the throat muscles relax, narrowing or closing your airway as you breathe in, resulting in irregular breathing and loss of breath.
2. Central sleep apnea
   This is caused by a misfire of signals to the brain that controls how and when muscles relax.
3. Complex sleep apnea syndrome
   This occurs when a patient is diagnosed with both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

Common Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Sleep apnea symptoms for both obstructive and central are almost identical, sometimes making it hard for a doctor to determine which type you are experiencing.

Here are the common signs to watch for:

• Episodes where you stop breathing in your sleep—most often detected by another person
• Loud snoring or gasping for air in your sleep
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Headaches, especially in the morning
• Insomnia or restless sleep
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating

Risk Factors

Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age. Still, several factors put you at increased risk of developing it.

Some of the most common risk factors include:

• Excessive weight and obesity
• Larger neck circumference (17+ inches for men, 16+ inches for women)
• A narrow throat or airway
• Age—those who are older are at greater risk
• Gender—males are two to three times more likely to develop it than females
• Family history
• Alcohol or tobacco use
• Medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and chronic lung diseases such as asthma.
• A history of stroke

The Connection Between Sleep and Weight Gain

People who consistently get fewer than six hours of sleep at night have higher glucose (blood sugar) and insulin levels, which increases the risk of weight gain. How?

• Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that regulates glucose levels in the blood by helping the body’s cells absorb it. When the cells absorb too much glucose, the body converts it into fat.

• Hunger Hormones

Missing out on restorative sleep can also cause the body to produce higher levels of leptin and Ghrelin—the hunger hormones. Ghrelin is a hormone that increases appetite and plays a role in body weight. Leptin is a hormone that typically suppresses the appetite. However, if too much of it builds up in your blood, you may develop a resistance to it. When this happens, the leptin in your body may be unable to properly suppress your appetite, causing you to feel hungry more often and gain weight.

• Stress and Cortisol

Not getting enough high-quality sleep also increases your stress levels, making it more difficult to control your appetite. Sleep deprivation increases your body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol triggers brain’s reward center, increasing your risk of craving unhealthy, calorically dense foods.

The combination of excess cortisol and Ghrelin in your body means you’re more likely to eat more food than you typically would to feel satisfied. Lack of sleep can also leave you reaching for sugary, fatty, or salty foods and drinks that contain no significant nutrients but are high in calories.

While getting enough quality sleep each night won’t solve all your weight issues, it will give your body a head start. For many, weight loss can be achieved through a combination of restorative sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and participating in daily physical activities. But when that’s simply not enough, surgical treatment options are available.

Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are seeing an increase in your weight, or you’re living with obesity that has caused a sleep apnea diagnosis, bariatric surgery may be the best option for you. Weight loss surgery for sleep apnea can help to restore your ability to have restful and restorative sleep.

With the combined effects of significantly decreasing your body weight and alleviating your sleep apnea symptoms, weight loss surgery can positively impact your life. In fact, losing just 10% of your body weight has been shown to decrease your risk of developing lifelong sleep apnea by up to 25%. Achieve successful weight loss with these safe and effective treatment options:

• Sleeve gastrectomy
  A type of bariatric surgery that makes the stomach significantly smaller.
• Gastric bypass
  A technique that divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower pouch.
• Gastric band
  A laparoscopic adjustable band, or inflatable silicone device, is placed around the top portion of the stomach to help you feel fuller with less food.
• Biliopancreatic diversion (BDP)
  A procedure that removes a part of the stomach to restrict how much food it can hold. It also diverts the gastrointestinal (GI) tract beyond some of the small.

Break the Cycle of Sleep Apnea and Weight Gain With Dr. Wiljon Beltre

Dr. Wiljon Beltre is a board-certified and fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon with over 14 years of experience providing state-of-the-art weight loss surgery procedures in Orlando, Tampa, Maitland, Central Florida, and surrounding communities.

If you’re struggling with sleep apnea and weight gain and have a BMI over 35, call The Center for Metabolic Obesity Surgery at 407-904-4840 or schedule a consultation today. It’s time to take control of your health and reclaim restful sleep.