Sleep Disorders not only prevent restful sleep; they may also contribute to serious health complications. According to published medical studies, sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome may increase your risk for serious health complications.

“A strong genetic connection between Alzheimer's and sleep apnea was reported June 13 in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Narcolepsy at Stanford's Center for Human Sleep Research, and Greer Murphy, MD, PhD, director of the Neurochemistry/Genetics Core of the Stanford Alzheimer's Disease Center. Their research showed that a particular gene linked to sleep apnea also predisposes carriers to the development of Alzheimer's and heart disease.”

“Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have made a connection between car accidents and obstructive sleep apnea. By correlating the percentage of apnea-related accidents with treatment success rates, the study concluded that 980 lives could be saved and $11.1 billion in accident costs could potentially be eliminated.”

“Our data suggest that there is a strong relationship between dementia and sleep apnea when the sleep apnea and dementia are severe. Although causality cannot be inferred from associations, our hypothesis for study is that sleep apnea causes deficits in brain function, possibly due to global effects rather than any particular cortical or subcortical structure.”

“Adults who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea are three times more likely to also have diabetes, according to a new UCLA School of Dentistry/Department of Veterans Affairs study published today in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.”

“The nighttime breathing disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack or dying by 30% over a period of four to five years, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference... The more severe the sleep apnea at the beginning of the study, the greater the risk of developing heart disease or dying, the study found. ‘While previous studies have shown an association between sleep apnea and heart disease, ours is a large study that allowed us to not only follow patients for five years and look at the association between sleep apnea and the combined outcome of heart attack and death, but also adjust for other traditional risk factors for heart disease,’ says researcher Neomi Shah, M.D., of Yale University.”

“People with restless legs syndrome face twice the risk of a stroke or heart disease compared to people who don't have the neurological condition, a new study suggests. The risk is greatest in people with the most frequent and the most severe symptoms of restless legs syndrome. ‘This shows that restless legs syndrome has salience beyond just symptoms,’ said Dr. David Rye, a professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. ‘It's really saying, this disorder is salient, you need to recognize it.’ … Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by restlessness and a need to move the legs. Symptoms start or become worse when you are resting. The symptoms occur mainly at night and can interfere with sleep. Some 5 percent to 10 percent of the adult population suffers from the syndrome, according to the study.

Earlier studies showed an association between restless legs syndrome and cardiovascular disease, but the studies had limitations. RLS has also suffered from a public image problem, which may explain why so few studies have explored the condition.

‘RLS has borne the brunt of a lot of skepticism,’ Rye explained. ‘Snoring started out the same way... It took decades to convince primary-care physicians that we have to treat sleep apnea, that it's not just a nuisance that dad snores. It [sleep apnea] has a huge added risk for obesity and stroke and hypertension and cardiovascular disease.’”