Deep into Sleep Ep203: The Painful Diagnostic Journey of Sleep Apnea And a New Way Through It with Douglas Krohn, MD
Apr 11, 2025
Douglas Krohn, MD, a primary care physician and sleep medicine innovator, explains obstructive sleep apnea and his struggle with long, costly diagnostics. He describes how apnea fragments sleep, risks to cognition and relationships, alcohol and risk factors, limits of traditional testing, and a faster digital diagnostic path with remote APAP therapy and support.
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Sleep Apnea Is A Systemic Illness
- Obstructive sleep apnea is a systemic illness that causes low oxygen and frequent arousals during sleep.
- These arousals fragment sleep, spike blood pressure, harm cognition, and increase long-term risks like dementia and cardiovascular disease.
Partners Suffer The Same Sleep Loss Effects
- Bed partners often experience the same daytime consequences as the patient, effectively becoming secondary patients.
- Loud snoring and arousals fragment both people's sleep, causing headaches, mood and sexual dysfunction in partners.
Avoid Alcohol Before Bed To Reduce Airway Collapse
- Avoid alcohol in the 3–4 hours before bed because it relaxes pharyngeal muscles and worsens snoring and sleep apnea.
- Even young healthy people can snore heavily after drinking; alcohol can turn mild apnea into severe events.