4. Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea interrupts your sleep throughout the night, which can affect how well your brain cells communicate with each other.
Poor sleep can also affect your attention, memory, and ability to process information.
“Sleep apnea not only raises the risk of vascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks, but can also cause cognitive symptoms beyond those seen in Alzheimer’s disease,” says Kaitlin Seibert, MD, a behavioral neurologist with Cleveland Clinic Center for Brain Health in Beachwood, Ohio.
“If we do not give our brain seven to nine hours of high-quality sleep per night, including treating sleep apnea when present, we cannot expect it to focus, engage, and find words efficiently,” says Dr. Seibert.
