If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you may be surprised to learn that it’s connected to Parkinson’s disease. Sleep apnea is a sleep-related breathing condition, while Parkinson’s is a movement disorder.

In fact, observational studies have found that people with sleep apnea are 1.54 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s, and people with Parkinson’s are 1.92 times more likely to develop sleep apnea. Yet, scientists still aren’t completely sure why this relationship between the two conditions exists.

Understanding how these conditions might be related can help you make informed decisions about your health. Here’s what researchers know so far about sleep apnea and Parkinson’s.

Is There a Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Parkinson’s?

Researchers have found a meaningful connection between sleep apnea and Parkinson’s, but the specifics of the link between the two are still being researched.

Most of the current evidence comes from observational studies, which can identify patterns and associations but cannot prove that one condition directly causes the other. Still, the consistency of these findings has made researchers take the connection seriously.

Scientists conducted a large-scale study in 2025 and discovered that people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — the most common type — had an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s.

According to the researchers involved in this study, when breathing is interrupted night after night over a long period of time, neurons (nerve cells) may not work as well as they should.

This process could help explain how untreated sleep apnea might contribute to Parkinson’s disease, which causes neurons to weaken and become damaged.

Researchers are especially interested in how repeated drops in oxygen levels and fragmented sleep may affect the brain over time. When the brain is repeatedly stressed in this way, it may become more vulnerable to inflammation, cell damage, and other changes linked to neurodegeneration.

In a 2019 study, researchers suggested that because sleep apnea deprives the brain of oxygen, this may stimulate a protein found in your blood known as alpha-synuclein.

Alpha-synuclein is closely linked to Parkinson’s. Abnormal clumps of this protein are often found in the brains of people with the disease.

However, the size of this study was very small, and more research is needed to fully understand if this correlation is meaningful.

How Sleep Apnea Can Affect Life With Parkinson’s

Whether sleep apnea develops before or after Parkinson’s, the combination of the two conditions can be especially challenging.

Sleep apnea does not just affect breathing during the night. It can also influence daytime energy, thinking, mood, and overall quality of life. For people already managing Parkinson’s symptoms, these added effects can be significant.

While research is still evolving, health experts believe that disrupted breathing and poor sleep may interact with changes in the brain caused by Parkinson’s. Below are some of the ways sleep apnea may influence symptoms, mood, and daily life.

Potentially Worsen Symptoms

The research is conflicting when it comes to how sleep apnea can affect Parkinson’s symptoms. One study found worsening cognitive symptoms, while another found there was no impact on motor and nonmotor Parkinson’s symptoms.

When breathing pauses or oxygen levels drop with sleep apnea, this can cause further damage to the brain in someone with Parkinson’s. This can lead to increased difficulties with thinking and memory, which can impact your quality of life.

For someone living with Parkinson’s, these extra challenges may make daily tasks feel more difficult. Problems with attention, memory, and mental sharpness can affect independence, communication, and confidence, especially when poor sleep becomes an ongoing issue.

Likewise, brain changes that take place when you have Parkinson’s can affect your breathing and make sleep apnea worse. This creates a vicious cycle between the two conditions.

May Cause Changes to Mood

OSA can have many effects on someone’s life. For instance, disrupted sleep can cause someone to feel irritable and depressed. It can also cause sleepiness during the day.

Over time, poor sleep can make it harder to manage stress and maintain daily routines. This may be especially challenging for people with Parkinson’s, because fatigue and mood changes are already common parts of the condition.

Can Negatively Affect Sleeping Partner

If you’re not sleeping well, your sleeping partner may also be affected. Sleep apnea can cause loud snoring, gasping, or restless sleep that repeatedly wakes a partner during the night.

If your partner is also your caregiver, repeated sleep interruptions can affect their sleep and health and make caregiving harder.

Over time, this can leave both people exhausted and may add strain to daily routines, relationships, and caregiving responsibilities.

Benefits of Treating Sleep Apnea

Treating sleep apnea is important even aside from its possible connection to Parkinson’s disease. Because OSA affects sleep quality, oxygen levels, and daytime functioning, treatment may improve several areas of health and well-being.

May Protect Against Developing Parkinson’s

If you treat sleep apnea with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, the device may provide some protection against developing brain conditions, like Parkinson’s.

A CPAP machine works by helping keep your airway open while you sleep, which can reduce breathing interruptions and improve oxygen flow.

Although researchers still need more evidence, these findings suggest that treating sleep apnea early may have benefits that go beyond improving sleep.

Another study discovered that veterans with sleep apnea were nearly twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s than those without the condition.

Those who began CPAP therapy within two years of their sleep apnea diagnosis were about 30 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s. For those who developed Parkinson’s, using a CPAP was associated with fewer falls and fractures.

This is especially important because falls can already be a serious concern for people with Parkinson’s. If CPAP therapy improves sleep and reduces some complications, it may play a meaningful role in protecting overall health and daily functioning.

Improves Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Aside from potentially reducing the risk of Parkinson’s, there are other benefits to CPAP treatment for people with OSA, including:

• Boosted sleep quality
• Less daytime sleepiness
• Improved thinking and memory abilities
• Better overall mood

If you have Parkinson’s disease and OSA, all of the above benefits apply. There’s also a chance CPAP treatment could help improve your Parkinson’s symptoms.

While CPAP is not a treatment for Parkinson’s itself, better sleep may reduce some of the strain that untreated sleep apnea places on the brain and body.

Researchers are still studying whether this can lead to noticeable improvements in Parkinson’s symptoms over time, but the potential benefits make diagnosis and treatment especially important.

Talk to Your Healthcare Provider About Your Risk

Researchers are making strides in understanding the connection between sleep apnea and Parkinson’s disease, but there is still a great deal to learn.

What is clear so far is that the two conditions appear to be linked, and untreated sleep apnea may have effects that reach beyond poor sleep alone.

If you have symptoms of sleep apnea, Parkinson’s, or both, talking with your healthcare provider may help you get the testing, treatment, and support you need.

Join the Conversation

On MySleepApneaTeam, people share their experiences with sleep apnea, get advice, and find support from others who understand.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, what is one thing you’ve done to reduce your risk of Parkinson’s disease? Let others know in the comments below.