Depression and OSA

People with depression are five times more likely to have a breathing-related sleep disorder, according to a Standford University Study.

CPAPtalk member DSM suggests that the connection between OSA and depression is cyclical:

1.OSA/CA => 2.Decline in well being* => 3. depression => 4. sluggishness & lack of will 
 to exercise => 5. increase in weight => 6. worse OSA/CA => go to 3.

note: *Stage 2 can be understood further as OSA related arousals occasion a release of cortisol. Chronic elevated cortisol is thought to be the main culprit that causes the brain damage (you might call it) which eventuates in mood and anxiety disorders across the board. -brain_cloud

Other Sleep Disorders Connection to Depression

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is in some part caused by a dopamine deficiency. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is essential for the healthy functioning of the central nervous system; it has effects on emotion, perception and movement. A lack of dopamine can correlate to depression.

Other contributors to Depression

Vitamin D Deficiency

by KatherineFulmer

Vitamin D helps you process Calcium, or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, if you're deficient in one, you're probably deficient in the other. That means you're depressed and you have back pain!

I take Calcium daily fortified with Vitamin D. That way they work hand in hand. Also, you can treat yourself to these yummies to up your Vitamin D when the sun don't shine:

• Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, 1 Tbs. (15 ml) provides 1,360 IU (one IU equals 25 ng)- I recommend taking this in pill form. Take daily. To avoid fishy burps, put the jar of pills in the freezer. Don't know why, but it works like a charm.
• Fatty fish species, such as:

>o Herring, 85 g (3 ounces (oz)) provides 1383 IU >o Catfish, 85 g (3 oz) provides 425 IU >o Salmon, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz]) provides 360 IU >o Mackerel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz]), 345 IU >o Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 50 g (1.75 oz), 250 IU >o Tuna, canned in oil, 85 g (3 oz), 200 IU >o Eel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), 200 IU

• A whole egg, provides 20 IU
• Beef liver, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), provides 15 IU
• UV-irradiated mushrooms (Vitamin D2)[28][29]