Vitamin B1 For Sleep Apnea

Putting It All Together

The 2019 Nobel prize has just been awarded to three scientists who have discovered how our body cells respond to low concentrations of oxygen . The reaction of medical scientists is very positive since this discovery will certainly be applied to the treatment of many diseases. Apparently scientists are already trying to find drugs that will influence this effect. For example, it has long been known that hypoxia will introduce inflammation. My forecast is that the use of nutrients will often correct the genetics by epigenetic mechanisms and this is already under way.

The heading of this article is that sleep requires energy, but I am making the case that being alive and well simply means that oxygen is being consumed efficiently, as long as the blueprint of DNA is healthy. It strongly suggests that hypoxia and/or pseudo -hypoxia are the underlying causes of disease and may explain why thiamine and its derivative are such important therapeutic agents.

Fragmented Fight Or Flight

The brainstem autonomic system together with the limbic system enable us to adapt to our environment, presiding over a number of reflexes that allow us to survive. For example, fight-or-flight is a survival reflex, triggered by perception of a dangerous incident that helps us to kill the enemy or escape. This kind of stress event in our ancestors was different from that we experience today. Wild animal predators have been replaced by taxes/business deadlines/rush hour traffic etc. These are the sources of modern stress. The beneficial effect is that the entire brain/body is geared to physical and mental response. However, it is designed for short term action and consumes energy rapidly. Prolonged action is literally exhausting and results in the sensation of fatigue. In the world of today where dietary mayhem is widespread, this is commonly represented as Panic Attacks, usually treated as psychological. They are really fragmented fight-or-flight reflexes that are triggered too easily because of abnormal brain chemistry.

Sleep Disorders Teeth And Snoring

Dentists are often the first doctor to notice somethings not right in a person with disordered sleep. A small or blocked airway, a scalloped tongue, and a deviated septum are all indicators a persons sleep is interrupted.

Sleep disorders are an underlying problem with breathing. When you dont breathe well during the day, you dont breathe well at night. What many people dont realize is that sleep disorders are caused by blocked airways and brainstem dysfunction.

Poor sleep or sleep disorders are often associated with blocked airways like in obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome . Symptoms of a sleep disorder can be:

• Anxiety or depression
• Cold hands and feet

If you suffer any of these sleep apnea symptoms, you should suspect a sleep disorder. I recommend getting checked by a sleep focussed medical or dental professional.

Blocked airways can cause disordered breathing and sleep, whats less understood is how the brainstem functions in sleep.

In this blog, were going to talk about one other VERY important thing you should do. Many people with sleep disorders are vitamin d deficient.

Its all a matter of the link between vitamin d deficiency, sleep health and the brainstem.

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Identifying Vitamin B Deficiency

A B vitamin deficiency isnt always easy to identify because there are many different B vitamins, and a deficiency in one may have different symptoms than a deficiency in another.

Lets look at the different symptoms of vitamin B deficiency.

• Vitamin B12 deficiency: This can cause anemia, confusion, fatigue, weakness, and depression.
• Vitamin B6 deficiency: This can cause anemia, confusion, depression, nausea, and rashes.
• Vitamin B1 and B2 deficiency: This is unlikely, but a deficiency can cause confusion.
• Vitamin B3 deficiency: This can cause digestive issues, nausea, and abdominal cramps.
• Vitamin B9 deficiency: This can cause anemia and diarrhea.

A vitamin B deficiency is difficult to identify because the symptoms are generic.

Stop Suffering From Sleep Apnea

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Sleep Apnea And Nutritional Deficiencies

Mr. Raj is 40 years old, the delivery head of a Sleep Apnea and Nutritional DeficienciesSleep Apnea and Nutritional DeficiencieMNC and has a beautiful family. With loved and trusted people surrounding him, he should rest well at night. However, he doesnt rest well on most nights. He snores loudly and at times even wakes up to take heavy gasps of breath. His wife has a hard time with his disturbed sleeping and his children constantly make fun of his day-time sleeping habit. His colleagues at the office constantly have to help him get through the day without forgetting his phone, wallet and other important things.

All the people who think know him well dont actually know that he is suffering from sleep apnea. In fact majority of people who face this problem are unaware that they are suffering from Sleep Apnea.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep Apnea is a condition where the persons breathing is interrupted, as they sleep, for several seconds and multiple times at night. It causes the upper airway of the lungs to get blocked. This leads to an oxygen deficit in the body and can potentially pave the way to life threatening conditions of heart problems and cardiovascular diseases.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Nutritional Deficiencies

However, nutrition is the most potent key to unlock the problem of Sleep Apnea. There are several studies that link nutritional deficiencies as the prime cause for this disorder. Here are some of them:

1. Vitamin D

Magnesium And Sleep Apnea

Magnesium and vitamin D for sleep apnea are some of the most commonly recommended supplements among sleep experts. We know magnesium is a crucial mineral, essential for good brain, heart, and muscle health. Our bodies need a significant amount of magnesium to function well.

A diet with leafy green vegetables and nuts can be helpful at ensuring you get the right levels of magnesium, though some people may need to consider supplementation.

Magnesium can assist with insomnia and sleep problems in a multitude of ways. First, the substance helps to promote GABA production, which helps the brain to power down effectively at night. GABA decrease the activity in your nervous system by minimizing feelings of stress and anxiety, which can help your sleep pattern.

Magnesium can also assist with relaxing various muscles throughout the body. This can reduce the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, where tightening muscles in the neck can make issues worse. The link between levels of magnesium and sleep apnea is strong in the existing research.

However, magnesium isnt a cure for sleep apnea on its own. While magnesium can help with some of the inflammatory factors contributing to sleep apnea, its important to still consider the use of a CPAP machine and similar treatments.

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Other Vitamin Deficiencies That Affect Sleep

Its not only a vitamin D deficiency that can contribute to sleep apnea and sleep quality or quantity. There are a few other vitamin deficiencies that can also affect your sleep. One of the best ways to find out if you have a deficiency is to take a blood test. The blood test will tell you if you have a deficiency and your doctor will instruct you on which types of supplements to take.

Do B Vitamins Cause Insomnia

The Sleep Journal found that multivitamin users woke up more at night, were awake for longer, had to use more sleep medications, and experienced a higher rate of insomnia for the following reasons:

• Some people interact with vitamins differently, causing them to wake up more often at night.
• The interaction between different vitamins caused poor quality sleep.
• People who experience low-quality sleep are more likely to start taking vitamins.
• People who experienced depression and anxiety due to poor sleep were more likely to take vitamins.

Unfortunately, there werent many previous studies to draw on for evidence. So, their findings were only intended to start a discussion rather than settle the debate.

Other studies into too much B vitamin complex show a link to insomnia. Thiamine has various side effects if you take a high dose, including headaches, irritability, rapid pulse rate, and insomnia.

Vitamin B6 can cause vivid dreaming, waking you up at night. Also, B6 is a diuretic, so you may feel the need to go to the toilet during the night.

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Testing For A Thiamine Deficiency

Thiamine deficiency is diagnosed using a physical exam, looking for issues like behavioral or mobility changes, as well as laboratory testing to confirm.

Urine tests are not reliable for measuring thiamine levels, nor are direct blood tests of thiamine levels.

Instead, medical professionals often use a blood test to measure the activity of the enzyme transketolase. The activity of transketolase requires thiamine, so if its activity is reduced in the body, its assumed to be due to a lack of thiamine .

Summary

The best approach is to prevent thiamine deficiency in the first place by eating a variety of thiamine-containing foods and potentially using a thiamine-containing supplement. If thiamine deficiency is diagnosed using a reliable lab test, high dose supplementation is used to correct it.

The risk for developing thiamine deficiency is generally low in industrialized countries where people have more reliable access to thiamine-containing foods. However, there is a higher risk among certain groups of people.

Some of the most common risk factors for thiamine deficiency include (

What Integrative Interventions May Be Beneficial For Sleep Apnea

• N-acetylcysteine : Supplementation with the antioxidant NAC has been shown to ameliorate signs and symptoms of sleep apnea, including apnea-related arousals, daytime sleepiness, and snoring, among others.
• Coenzyme Q10 : CoQ10, an antioxidant with beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system and metabolism, may benefit sleep apnea patients at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and impaired glucose tolerance.
• Vitamin D: Studies have found low vitamin D levels are associated with increased risk for insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome among patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a host of cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory benefits, which may be important for individuals with sleep apnea.
• B vitamins: Supplementation with B vitamins has been shown to reduce levels of serum homocysteine, an amino acid associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and neurogenerative diseases and shown to be elevated in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
• Probiotics: Studies involving animal models of sleep apnea and intermittent hypoxia have found that probiotics can improve some side effects of systemic inflammation in the heart and brain, as well as hypertension.

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Best Vitamins For Sleep

If you’ve been tossing and turning, there’s six vitamins that could help you get a great night’s sleep.

Whether its another hour spent watching the clock tick down to dawn, or a restless night tossing and turninggetting a good amount of decent shut-eye is no easy feat in modern life.

Along with looking at your bedtime habits, its also worth considering the fuel youre putting in your body, as this affects your brains performance, your memory, your ability to learn, make decisions, regulates your moodand even how you sleep. Luckily there are vitamins for sleep that can help put an end to restless nights.

Convenient Alternatives Do Exist

Even though increasing your vitamin D intake or other vitamins isnt likely to help your sleep apnea, there is a treatment option thats more comfortable and convenient than CPAP: oral appliance therapy. Theres no complex machine, hoses, or other attachments to deal with. Theres just a compact mouth guard you put in before bed.

Although certain vitamins can play a role in your sleep quality, you need an effective sleep apnea treatment to see consistent results that can change your life.

To learn whether youre a candidate for this more comfortable approach to sleep apnea treatment, please call for an appointment with a Detroit sleep dentist at the Michigan Center for TMJ & Sleep Wellness.

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Nasal Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure And Oral Negative Pressure Therapy

Because many people find CPAP difficult to use, other devices based on the same principleâusing air pressure to keep airways openâhave been developed.

Nasal expiratory positive airway pressure . This treatment creates positive pressure only in the expiratory phase of the breath cycle, rather than continuously. The pressure is generated by adhesive nasal patches that function as one-way valves that close during exhalation, providing air resistance pressure. These nasal patches may be more tolerable to some people than a CPAP facemask. A meta-analysis of 18 studies, which included a total of 920 patients with obstructive sleep apnea, found that nasal EPAP reduced AHI by an average 53.2% and was associated with improved oxygen levels and reduced daytime sleepiness. In studies that compared nasal EPAP with CPAP, EPAP was associated withsmaller reductions in AHI, suggesting it may not be as efficacious as CPAP.161 There is limited evidence available demonstrating who is likely to respond well to EPAP, but it is generally not recommended for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea, reduced airway size or lung volume, high risk for airway collapse, nasal obstruction, blood gas abnormalities, or for use after stroke.162,163

Warning Disclaimer Use For Publication

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.

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Sex And Hormone Levels

Male sex is a significant risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea, withmales being twice as likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea as females.1 The increased prevalence of disease in males, coupled with the observations that postmenopausal women and women with PCOS are at increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea relative to their healthy premenopausal counterparts, has led some to suggest that estrogen may play a protective role against the development of obstructive sleep apnea.100,101 However, experimental evidence to support this theory is lacking, and moreinformation is needed on estrogenâs role in the development of sleep apnea.102

Your Ultimate Guide To Vitamin D Part 4 Why Vitamin D Is Your Key To Better Sleep

Disordered sleeping is a serious health problem impacting an estimated 40 million Americans.

Snoring is one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea. Finding a cure for snoring can be difficult, because changes to the brain can occur as a sleep disorder worsen. One of the most common deficiency that relate to both teeth and sleep, is vitamin D deficiency.

Biological functions vital to our health and well-being occur during the precious hours of sleep. These include various sleep stages to heal, recover, and grow. Without proper sleep your body can experience a buildup of toxins and inflammation. In fact, you would die after 11 days of sleep deprivation.

Society prides itself in functioning on little to no sleep. But research is finding this attitude is detrimental to our health one study found those who slept between five and seven hours regularly had a 1.7 fold increased risk of mortality. Furthermore, poor sleep has been found to be a significant contributor to the development of Alzheimers disease.

The old adage, Ill sleep when Im dead is proving to be more like youre dead if you dont sleep.

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Sleep Apnea Patients Have Shrunken Brain Structures Involved In Memory

These findings, by Rajesh Kumar, PhD, from the University of California, Los Angeles , and colleagues, are published in the June 27 issue of Neuroscience Letters.

Mammillary bodies lie in the ventral-caudal portion of the hypothalamus and participate in a complex hippocampal-diencephalic memory system. Because they are relatively small structures deep in the brain and very close to bone and cerebral spinal fluid, dimensions are hard to assess with standard imaging, but they were evaluated using very-high-resolution MRI, coauthor Ronald M. Harper, PhD, principal investigator of the study, told Medscape Psychiatry.

“We found a substantial loss in volume about 20% less than control subjects, with more loss on the left than on the right mammillary body in patients with sleep apnea,” he said.

“These findings are important because patients suffering from memory loss from other diseases, such as alcoholism or Alzheimer’s disease, also show shrunken mammillary bodies,” Dr. Kumar said in a press release.

Physicians treat memory loss in alcoholic patients with massive amounts of thiamine , he noted, adding that it is suspected that the large dose helps dying cells recover, enabling the brain to use them again.

Gasping for Air

Mammillary Bodies May Hold Clues to Explain Memory Loss

Neurosci Lett. 2008 438:330-334. Abstract