Green Tea Can Help Retain Memory of Sleep Apnea Sufferers

Do you suffer from sleep apnea and its resulting health issues? You may be surprised to learn that 12 million people in the United States alone literally stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep.  Even scarier, some may stop breathing for even a minute or longer. But a new study reveals that natural substances in green tea can help with cognitive deficits caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Let’s take a closer look at this discovery . . .

The following study reveals that natural substances in green tea can help with cognitive deficits caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  This is according to a recent Natural News article and the second issue of the May American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 

Sleep Apnea
It may be surprising to learn that nearly 12 million people in the United States alone literally stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep.  Even scarier, some may stop breathing for even a minute or longer.  This is due to a disorder called sleep apnea.
The most serious form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  This is when a person stops breathing hundreds of times during one single night and deprives the brain of oxygen. 

What does OSA do to your body?
This form of sleep apnea can actually damage the brain and cause memory problems.  Those who are known to have OSA have increased oxidative stress and show changes in their brain tissue in the areas of learning and memory.

How does green tea help OSA patients?
The effects of green tea polyphenols (GTP) were studied on rats that were deprived of oxygen to simulate the lack of oxygen in people.  This is known as hypoxia.  Chronic hypoxia in rats has been shown to produce similar neurological deficit patterns as seen in humans with OSA.

How does green tea help with other diseases?
In the past, GTPs from green tea could possibly reduce the risk of many different diseases.  This is likely because of the anti-oxidant properties green tea possesses and it acts as a free-radical scavenger. 

David Gozal, M.D., professor and director of Kosair Children's Hospital Research Institute at the University of Louisville stated, "OSA has been increasingly recognized as a serious and frequent health condition with potential long-term morbidities that include learning and psychological disabilities."

He also said, "A growing body of evidence suggests that the adverse neurobehavioral consequences imposed by hypoxia stem, at least in part, from oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling cascades."

Study Details
A study was conducted by Dr. Gozal and his colleagues.  They divided 106 male rats into two groups.  They were both deprived of intermittent oxygen throughout a 12-hour cycle for two weeks.  One group of rats received water that contained the GTPs and the other group of rats drank regular water.

The rats were then tested for inflammation and oxidative stress and their spatial learning and memory was measured by putting them through a water “maze.”  In order for them to get out of the water, they had to memorize the location of a hidden platform.

Study Results 
Interestingly, the rats that drank water with the GTPs had better memories and performed much better in the water maze than those who drank plain water.
Researchers concluded that GTPs “may represent a potential interventional strategy for patients with sleep-disordered breathing,” according to Dr. Gozal, who headed the research team.

Green tea could possibly replace drugs that prevent deficits due to hypoxia.  It could also help to preserve memories of millions of sleep apnea patients.  This is very hopeful for those millions of people having trouble remembering the simple things in life, like where there keys are, as well as the more important things like when or if they took their medications or any other important life threatening situations that can come up.

Green tea could also help other brain-injuring diseases.   Dr. Gozal wrote, "Recent studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective activity of GTP in animal models of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease."