How Physical Activity Decreases the Effects of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

When I was growing up my mom and grandparents were diagnosedwith obstructivesleepapnea(OSA).Theyallusedbreathingmaskswhentheyslept,and if they didn’t use the mask I made sure to have ear plugs. After dealing withthesnoring of my family for quite some time I began to become more interested inthetopic. How can I get this women to stop snoring? After reading manyresearch studies I came to the conclusion that physical activity plus other componentswerethe answers I had been looking for. These studies compared multiple ages,and severityoftheirobstructivesleepapnea.Thearticlesshowedpossiblesolutionsto

a problem other individuals may be experiencing aswell.

Physical activity may decrease negative symptoms such as: daytimesleepinessandtheamountoftimesanindividualwakesupthroughoutthenight.

Physical activity may also facilitate weight loss, which has the potentialto decreasenegativesymptoms.ResearchshowsthatdifferentformsofexerciseaffectsymptomsofOSA.Alsowhentheyhaveahealthydiet,andusetheir

N-CPAPmachines,thesedecreasedeffectswillbeenhanced.Aerobicexercisewas one form of physical activity that showed more positive outcomes in thestudies. Althoughexercisetrainingshowedsignsofimprovementaswell.Belowarethe

effects each type is training can decrease, along with possibleexercises.

What shocked me the most through this research is that adolescents arealso atriskforOSA.Sinceadolescentssometimesdon’tspeakupwhentheyexperiencesomething unusual, it is difficult to tell when these symptoms start tooccur.

Furtherresearchintoadolescentpopulationscoulddecreasetheseverityinfuturesymptoms or eliminate the potential of having it as an adult. This creates adireneed for further research into this population ofindividuals.

A solution to this problem is that insurance companies do not alwayscover these types of testings. Allowing a patient to receive care from a sleepspecialistcandetectproblemsorpossiblesolutionstoobstructivesleepapnea.Thisreflects thesamethingassomeonewhoisinjuredandtheygotoaphysicaltherapist.

Thanks to this research I will be able to soon sleep peacefully throughthenight. My family members will hopefully start to feel a decrease in theirsymptoms and they too can have a better nightsleep.

For more information on obstructive sleep apnea check out thisvideo!

References:

SymanthaBrothers

Is a senior at Westfield State University and majoringinmovement science. As a senior research project for classshe wanted to use this opportunity to expand her knowledgeon obstructive sleep apnea. She hopes to use her findingstohelp her family with thissyndrome.

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Dobrosielski,D.A.,Patil,S.,Schwartz,A.R.,Bandeen-Roche,K.,&Stewart,K.

J. (2015). Effects of Exercise and Weight Loss in Older Adults withObstructiveSleep Apnea. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 47(1),20–26.

Evans, C. A., Selvadurai, H., Baur, L. A., & Waters, K. A. (2014). Effectsof obstructivesleepapneaandobesityonexercisefunctioninchildren.Sleep,37(6), 1103–1110.

Hong,S.,&Dimsdale,J.E.(2003).Physicalactivityandperceptionofenergyand fatigueinobstructivesleepapnea.Medicine&ScienceinSports&Exercise,35(7), 1088–1092.

Iftikhar,I.H.,Kline,C.E.,&Youngstedt,S.D.(2014).Effectsofexercisetraining on sleep apnea: a meta-analysis. Lung, 192(1),175–184.