DALLAS, Texas: Researchers at Texas A&M College of Dentistry, Dallas, recently discovered that dental devices that reduce snoring have not only been promoting better sleep but improving cognitive function in individuals who suffer from mild cognitive impairment.
A good night sleep plays an essential role in regulating brain health by removing the accumulated waste material and toxins. One of the most common reasons which disturb sleep is snoring or other breathing issues that cause obstructive sleep apnea.
Therefore Preetam Schramm, lead author of the research, and colleagues conducted a study to learn the relationship between breathing rate during sleep and cognitive function and how any snoring intervention with an oral appliance therapy would affect brain health.
They examined the interrelationship of breathing rate with an individual's cognitive function while participants were sleeping at home by the collected data of breathing rate, heart rate, and snoring availed from portable recorders. They also assessed the participants' memory, executive function, and attention.
The team also sought whether the myTAP oral appliance, which snaps into the mouth at night to prevent snoring, affected breathing rate and cognitive function.
The researchers found that the maximum breathing rate during unbroken periods of sleep can distinguish healthy individuals from those with either Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment.
When participants snoring decreased after four weeks of intervention with oral appliance therapy, the team found no significant difference in cognitive function of healthy individuals and individuals with mild cognitive impairment.
The research 'Snoring Remediation with Oral Appliance Therapy Potentially Reverses Cognitive Impairment: An Intervention Controlled Pilot Study' has been published in Geriatrics.
