Propofol News Story: What It Reveals About Sleep Apnea & Insomnia

Hello, this is Kazuyuki Sugaya, Director of Ueno Snoring Clinic. A recent news story involving the anesthetic drug propofol made headlines, and I wanted to use it as an opportunity to talk about sleep and sleep apnea from an anesthesiologist’s perspective.

Ueno Snoring Clinic was featured on Fuji TV’s “Live News It!” and covered by FNN Prime Online

Watch our discussion of sleep disorders, snoring, and sleep apnea diagnosis at Ueno Snoring Clinic

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Ueno Snoring Clinic was featured in an article on Nippon TV’s “news every.”

Please use this as a starting point for thinking about testing or treatment for snoring, sleep apnea, and sleep disorders.

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This topic is also covered in detail in our director’s book, “Curing Snoring with the Latest Treatments” (Amazon Japan Best Seller: #1 in General Medicine, #1 in Clinical Internal Medicine, #2 in Home Medical & Health)

New Book by Our Director

“Curing Snoring with the Latest Treatments”

Written by an anesthesiologist who has overseen the sleep of more than 10,000 patients, this book is a modern guide to the latest snoring treatments.

View on Amazon

Reviewed by Our Director
Reviewed by Our Director

Kazuyuki Sugaya

Director / Anesthesiologist, Ueno Snoring Clinic

With more than 20,000 general anesthesia cases, our director provides care centered on the diagnosis and treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, tailored to each patient. [Insurance-Covered] Ueno Snoring Clinic

This article has been medically reviewed by Director Kazuyuki Sugaya and explains accurate medical information about testing and treatment for snoring and sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in plain language.

A story made major headlines in Japan recently.

A 28-year-old anesthesiologist at a municipal hospital in Kawasaki left the operating room during a procedure and injected himself with propofol, an anesthetic drug from the hospital’s own supply. He was later found lying on a sofa in a staff break room, and was ultimately dismissed from his position.

When questioned, the physician reportedly said something along these lines:

“I would routinely watch patients fall asleep almost instantly from the anesthetic, and I found myself wishing I could sleep like that too.”

Does that statement strike you as absurd, or even a little funny?

As an anesthesiologist myself, I couldn’t laugh it off. To be absolutely clear: what this physician did was inexcusable. It was a serious medical safety violation that put a patient at risk and broke a profound bond of trust — nothing justifies it.

But I also believe there’s something all of us need to understand: just how far the suffering of chronic sleeplessness can push a person.

Ueno Snoring Clinic offers a range of options tailored to each patient’s condition, including insurance-covered sleep testing and CPAP management, as well as self-pay laser treatment for snoring. If you’d like to find out which treatment is right for you, please book an initial consultation.
Details of the tests and treatments offered at Ueno Snoring Clinic can be found here

What Is Propofol?

Propofol is a sedative and anesthetic administered intravenously.

It’s used to induce general anesthesia in nearly every case today (though a different drug is occasionally used instead).

It’s also commonly used to induce general anesthesia for surgery, and for sedation during procedures such as upper endoscopy or while a patient is on a ventilator.

Its defining characteristics are that
it takes effect very quickly, and wears off very quickly as well.
This makes it extremely convenient in a medical setting — but it also carries real risks, including respiratory arrest and a drop in blood pressure, which is why it must always be used in a setting where a patient’s entire physiological state can be monitored.

Its sedative effect truly is remarkably fast — most patients fall asleep in roughly 10 seconds.

Propofol is also widely known for a different reason: it’s the drug Michael Jackson reportedly referred to as “milk”.
According to reports, propofol was used essentially as a treatment for insomnia in that case, and it ultimately contributed to a fatal outcome.
In other words: treating a drug meant for strict hospital-controlled use as if it were an ordinary sleep aid is extremely dangerous.

Put simply, it’s “a medication that can put you to sleep almost instantly — but one that can be fatal if used incorrectly.”

“I Can’t Sleep” Can Push a Person Further Than You’d Expect

Have you ever had a night where you simply couldn’t sleep?

One or two nights, most of us can push through. But what if it went on for weeks — or months?

Chronic, ongoing insomnia can lead to:

• A significant decline in concentration and judgment
• Difficulty regulating your emotions
• More mistakes at work
• A weakened immune system and more frequent illness
• A depressed mood, edging closer to clinical depression
• A creeping sense of hopelessness — the feeling that “nothing I do matters”

The physician at the center of this story reportedly said he had struggled with insomnia for several years. He was working at the front lines of medicine while going years without truly restful sleep. That accumulated stress and exhaustion is what ultimately led to an irreversible lapse in judgment.

It would be easy to dismiss this as “just one reckless doctor’s story” and move on. But that leaves nothing for the rest of us to learn from it.

Someone Around You May Be Living With the Same Sleeplessness

According to a Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey, roughly 1 in 5 people in Japan report having some kind of sleep problem. In modern society, sleep issues are anything but rare.

And yet, many people tell themselves things like:

“This is probably just normal.”
“I’m just tired.”
“It’s just my age.”

And with that reasoning, sleep problems quietly go unaddressed.

One Possible Cause of Sleeplessness: Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Here’s the point I want to emphasize as an anesthesiologist.

Behind symptoms like “poor sleep quality,” “trouble sleeping,” and “waking up tired no matter how much I sleep,” sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is often hiding — more often than most people realize.

Sleep apnea syndrome is a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. Each time it stops, the brain and body react with a brief arousal response, which interrupts deep sleep. The person may believe they slept through the night, but in reality, they never actually got quality sleep.

This is often the real explanation behind “I don’t feel rested no matter how much I sleep,” “I have intense daytime sleepiness,” and “I never feel recovered no matter how many hours I sleep.”

What makes this especially concerning is that most people have no idea they’re snoring or that their breathing is stopping.

In many cases, people only find out because a partner or family member tells them, “you snore terribly” or “your breathing stopped.”

Do Any of These Symptoms Sound Familiar?

If you experience any of the following, you may have sleep apnea syndrome:

• You’ve been told your snoring is loud
• Someone has told you your breathing stops during sleep
• You wake up still tired, or with a heavy-feeling head
• You feel intense daytime sleepiness — even in meetings or while driving
• You wake up multiple times during the night
• You need to urinate frequently at night
• You wake up with headaches
• You’ve noticed a decline in concentration or memory
• You feel down or low in mood more easily than before

If three or more of these apply to you, we recommend getting tested.

New Book by Our Director

“Curing Snoring with the Latest Treatments”

Written by an anesthesiologist who has overseen the sleep of more than 10,000 patients, this book is a modern guide to the latest snoring treatments.

View on Amazon

What This Physician’s Attempt to “Fix” His Insomnia With Anesthesia Teaches Us

What’s the real lesson in this story?

Here’s how I see it: the true tragedy was that this physician’s suffering from sleeplessness went unspoken, and he never found his way to proper treatment.

Insomnia has many possible causes — stress, disrupted routines, psychological factors, and physical causes like sleep apnea syndrome. Treating the actual underlying cause gives you a real chance at improvement.

Rather than forcing yourself to sleep with a sedative never meant for that purpose, the right first step is having someone properly investigate why you can’t sleep.

If you or someone you care about is dealing with sleeplessness or troubling snoring, we encourage you to consult a specialist.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea Are Treatable

Sleep apnea syndrome can be effectively treated. Here are the main treatment options:

CPAP Therapy (Insurance-Covered)

CPAP uses a mask worn during sleep to deliver pressurized air that keeps the airway open and prevents apnea. It’s covered by national health insurance for moderate-to-severe sleep apnea. Many patients tell us that mornings feel like a completely different experience after starting CPAP.

Laser Snoring Treatment (Self-Pay)

This treatment uses a laser applied to the soft palate to reduce the tissue vibration that causes snoring. It’s an outpatient, same-day procedure that doesn’t require hospitalization. It’s also a popular option for patients who didn’t test positive for sleep apnea but still want to reduce their snoring.

Lifestyle Changes

Factors such as obesity, alcohol consumption, and sleep position can all play a role. We provide personalized guidance during your consultation.

What I Want to Share as an Anesthesiologist

As an anesthesiologist, I spend every working day beside people who are asleep. My job is to continuously manage a patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation so they can sleep safely during surgery.

That’s exactly why I understand, firsthand, just how delicate the process of sleep really is — and how serious the consequences can be when it breaks down.

I don’t want this story to be treated as something that has nothing to do with the rest of us.

“Have you been sleeping well lately?”

I’d encourage you to ask yourself that question — and to ask it of someone you care about, too.

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