CPAP Improves Memory

Apnea patients who use CPAP therapy may find their memories improve as a result of treatment.  Memory improvement not only seems to reverse the effects of apnea but in some cases even improves the memory of apnea patients over control subjects without apnea.

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) provides a continuous flow of air while patients are asleep, to keep airways open and prevent irregularities in breathing caused by apnea and snoring.

In addition to daytime sleepiness, apnea can cause deterioration of memory ability.  But a new study of memory skills in CPAP patients indicates that the therapy can help reverse memory loss caused by apnea.

The study, conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame, used an overnight recall test.  Subjects were shown a set of photographs before going to sleep.  Their sleep was monitored overnight, and in the morning patients were shown another set of photographs and asked to pick out the ones they had been shown the night before.  The study compared the results among three groups of people:  a group diagnosed with apnea who were already being treated with CPAP, a recently diagnosed group of apnea sufferers who were not yet being treated, and a group of people who did not have apnea.

Researchers included the control group as a baseline, with the expectation that the CPAP patients might perform better than the non-CPAP apnea sufferers, but might still show reduced function relative to the individuals without apnea.  Surprisingly, however, the CPAP group performed better on the memory test than either the untreated apnea patients or the group without apnea.

Lead researcher Ammar Tahir of the Memory Laboratory at Notre Dame says the group’s study should lead not only to increased understanding of the value of CPAP as a therapy for apnea but may also provide a direction for research on memory and brain function more generally.  Could CPAP offer assistance for patients suffering memory loss with causes other than apnea?  Future research may provide an answer.

The CPAP and memory study was reported Wednesday at the 2010 SLEEP Conference, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.