Exercise and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed a difference in my sleep on the days I get more exercise. I seem to fall asleep faster with much more restful sleep. That is on top of using my CPAP machine during the night for at least 7 hours.

In the mornings, I am ready to get up and get moving even before having any coffee. Also, my attitude is different – I'm happy and thrilled I get to unwrap the new day!

Now, this isn't like me at all. I am usually stumbling around needing a couple of cups of coffee at least, kind of grumpy and just wanting to go back to bed! So this new me is kind of weird, and I'm not sure I'm used to her yet!

What kind of exercises do I do?

Well, for me, it's not really exercise. Because of other health conditions, I'm not able to do a lot. My exercise consists of cleaning the house, doing laundry – that kind of stuff. But that's more exercise than I've had for quite some time. I used to be very physically active a few years before being diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.

I found that pretty much any kind of movement for a period of time can help! This includes singing to help strengthen the muscles in the throat. I know with all muscles, if you don't use them, you lose them. So, I did a little research to see if it was just something I was imagining or if exercise really does help with obstructive sleep apnea.

What does the research say about OSA and exercise?

This is what I found: Among adult patients with OSA, exercise as the sole intervention was associated with improved clinical outcomes.¹

I was pretty surprised to find this article!

How does exercise help people with OSA?

That's a good question! I'm not a doctor, so this is my own opinion. To me, exercise helps because it gets the blood flowing and moving. Also, I think oxygen would move throughout the body better, and because blood is flowing and moving, it's helping to release carbon dioxide from the body.

Now, if I'm exercising enough to work up a slight sweat or am breathing a little deeper or harder (panting), that would signal the brain that I need more oxygen to feed the muscles to make them work properly. Similar to the brain waking me up in the middle of the night when I stop breathing. So, exercising would help reinforce the brain signaling that my body needs more oxygen even while sleeping. Again, I'm not a doctor; this is just my own understanding of how this works.

Our bodies are very unique — each one performing on its own terms. No two are exactly alike. I really would like to hear others peoples' thoughts and opinions about exercising and obstructive sleep apnea.