Can You Undo the Damage from Sleep Apnea—and How Long Does It Take?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common but often overlooked sleep disorder that disrupts your ability to breathe freely during sleep. In OSA, the upper airway repeatedly becomes blocked, causing silent breathing pauses or shallow breaths, sometimes dozens or even hundreds of times each night, leading to a significant reduction in blood oxygen levels. These sleep apnea events fragment your sleep, preventing you from reaching the deep, restorative stages your brain and body need.

The consequences of untreated sleep apnea go far beyond just feeling tired. Studies suggest chronic sleep deprivation from OSA can lead to a significant reduction in brain function, affecting memory, attention, and even your mood. Over time, the lack of enough oxygen during these breathing interruptions can cause brain damage and cognitive impairment, putting you at increased risk for serious health complications like high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Proper treatment is essential, not only to restore quality sleep but also to protect your brain and overall health. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is one effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, but many patients struggle with compliance. A recent study published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine showed that only 25% of patients diagnosed with mild sleep apnea continued to use their CPAP machine on a regular basis 12 months after initial setup, stressing the need for CPAP alternatives when treating obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Ignoring sleep apnea isn’t just about losing sleep—it’s about risking your brain, your heart, and your future. That’s why recognizing and treating obstructive sleep apnea is potentially life-saving.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a destructive disease that causes your airway to collapse repeatedly during sleep, cutting off airflow and reducing oxygen levels throughout the night. Over time, this can lead to:

• White matter damage in the brain (affecting memory, mood, and attention)
• Increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease
• Impaired glucose metabolism (raising risk for diabetes)
• Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety
• Decreased libido and testosterone in men
• Cognitive decline and brain fog

Sleep apnea can cause damage to both the brain's white matter and gray matter, affecting multiple brain regions responsible for memory, attention, and executive function. Reductions in gray matter volume and damage to brain tissue and brain cells have been observed in severe obstructive sleep apnea cases. Fragmented sleep caused by repeated breathing interruptions contributes to these neurological changes. Untreated severe sleep apnea is associated with a higher risk of developing neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, and can even lead to heart failure..

When left untreated, these issues can build up slowly, and many people chalk them up to aging or stress, when in fact, they may be rooted in poor sleep quality and repeated oxygen deprivation.

Diagnosing sleep apnea starts with recognizing the common signs: loud snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and waking up with a dry mouth or morning headaches. If you or a loved one notices these symptoms, it’s important to seek a clinical diagnosis.

The traditional method of diagnosing sleep apnea is an in-lab sleep study, or polysomnogram. During this overnight test at a sleep lab, your brain activity, breathing patterns, oxygen levels, and muscle movements are monitored while you sleep. This allows doctors to detect apnea events—those silent breathing pauses that disrupt your rest—and measure their frequency using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The AHI helps determine how severe your sleep apnea is and guides your treatment plan.

Alternatively, enormous progress has been made in the last decade with completely at-home sleep tests, like the ones provided by Daybreak. These portable devices track your breathing and oxygen levels while you sleep in your own bed, making it easier and more convenient to get the answers you need.

Once your results are in, a specialist will review the data and work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan. Early diagnosis and proper treatment are key to protecting your brain, improving your quality of sleep, and reducing your risk of long-term health complications.

Thankfully, the most promising research (highlighted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine) shows that adherence to sleep apnea treatment—whether with CPAP treatment, surgery, or an FDA-cleared oral appliance—can reverse some of the brain damage caused by OSA. Previous study findings using magnetic resonance imaging have shown that sleep apnea therapy led to almost complete reversal or even complete reversal of white matter and gray matter abnormalities in the brain.

In particular, studies have found that treatment can drive significant improvements in white matter integrity in the brain—this is the wiring that helps different parts of your brain communicate effectively. When white matter heals, people often notice:

• Improved working memory and attention span
• Sharper thinking and quicker reaction time
• Better mood and emotional regulation
• Reduced feelings of anxiety or depression
• Overall higher quality of life

Improvements in cognitive functions, such as verbal fluency, have been observed following effective treatment.

This kind of cognitive and emotional recovery may begin within weeks or months of starting treatment, but lasting improvement usually depends on long-term consistency.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how long will it take to reverse damage from sleep apnea, because recovery depends on factors like:

• How severe your sleep apnea was before treatment
• The length of time of untreated OSA (obstructive sleep apnea)
• Your age and general health
• How consistent you are with using your treatment

Some people feel dramatically better after just a few nights of quality sleep. Others experience a slower, steady improvement over several months. Brain function, mood, and alertness tend to show noticeable changes within the first 1 to 3 months of regular treatment. Combined, these positive effects can be life-changing.

For cardiovascular and metabolic improvements, such as blood pressure stabilization or reduced insulin resistance, it may take longer: several months to a year of ongoing therapy.

While many of sleep apnea's effects can improve with treatment, some damage may be lasting, especially if OSA has gone untreated for many years. For example:

• Chronic cardiovascular changes like thickened heart walls or stiffened arteries may not fully normalize
• Severe cognitive decline, particularly if OSA coexists with conditions like dementia, may not completely reverse
• Long-term metabolic issues may require additional interventions alongside sleep apnea treatment

That's why it's so important not to wait. The longer sleep apnea goes unaddressed, the more likely permanent damage becomes.

The takeaway? Yes, much of the damage from sleep apnea can be undone—but only if you treat it, and stick with it.

Whether you're using CPAP therapy or a custom-made oral appliance to keep the airway open and drive recovery, the key is consistency. Skipping treatment, even for a few nights, can set back your recovery. Over time, however, most people notice major improvements in how they feel, think, and function—and in their long-term health.

If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea—or suspect you may have it—don't delay getting tested or starting treatment. The brain and body have an amazing ability to recover, and the results can be life-changing, but time matters.

At Daybreak, we offer a convenient, fully at-home sleep apnea solution, including FDA-cleared oral appliance therapy for those who qualify. Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to stay on track, we're here to help you breathe—and live—better. Get started with an easy at-home sleep test today.