Weight Loss Can Cure Mild Sleep Apnea
One study2 monitored the sleep quality of 72 overweight patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea . The patients changed to a low-calorie diet and received lifestyle counseling, which resulted in a significant decrease in their BMIs. After losing weight, the subjects mean number of apnea events per hour decreased significantly. Post weight-loss, the number of patients with sleep apnea decreased by 75%.
Additionally, the results of this study were maintained for a one-year follow-up.
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Sleep Apnea Can Cause Weight Gain
If you gain weight, you risk getting sleep apnea and if you have sleep apnea, you risk gaining weight. Untreated sleep apnea causes sleep deprivation which has a huge impact on your hormones, including hunger hormones. For instance, those who experience sleep deprivation have higher levels of ghrelin which is the appetite-stimulating hormone, and lower levels of leptin which is the appetite-suppressing hormone. In other words, the combination of these two will make you feel hungrier more often and crave more calorie-dense foods. With the change in hunger hormones combined with the low energy levels of having sleep apnea, its unlikely that a healthy diet and regular exercise routine are part of your life. As a result, weight gain is inevitable.
Mechanisms For The Development Of Osa In The Obese Patients
There are several mechanisms by which obesity could result in OSA, and these may act synergistically. It is proposed that increased peripharyngeal fat deposition results in mechanical loading that offsets the maintenance of airway patency by the dilator muscles and that this increase in collapsibility is particularly prominent during sleep when there is a reduction in neuromuscular activity . In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that central obesity in particular may have detrimental effects on neuromuscular activity in the upper airway . Obesity is associated with a reduction in functional residual capacity . Pharyngeal collapsibility may be further accentuated by this reduction in FRC and subsequent decrease in tracheal traction on the pharynx . Finally, a self-perpetuating cycle may develop in which sleep disruption leads to increased appetite , reduced activity levels, further weight gain, and increased severity of OSA .
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What Helps Sleep Apnea Naturally
If you are looking to lose weight and want to treat your sleep apnea naturally then The Stop Snoring And Sleep Apnea Program is highly recommended as it is a natural remedy based on mouth, throat and tongue exercises to cure your sleep apnea
The Stop Snoring And Sleep Apnea Program is a natural, step by step system to firstly diagnose, and then implement strategic exercises to help cure your snoring for good.
There are different exercise routines. They range from 3 minutes to 60 minutes.
The founder of this program developed this comprehensive but simple exercise program that exercises, heals, and shapes up the whole area around and in the throat.
And it is guaranteed to cure any form of snoring.
Four groups of exercises have been developed to exercise and strengthen the whole area around and in the throat.
These four exercise groups are the basic foundations of the program.
The program is catered to your personal circumstance and isnt just a one size fits all solution.
The Stop Snoring And Sleep Apnea Program comes in a written PDF version and an audio version.
Can Thin People Have Sleep Apnea
Thin people can be diagnosed with sleep apnea. Individuals born with a naturally narrow airway may also have sleep apnea regardless of their weight.
Additionally, those individuals with high blood pressure or chronic nasal congestion also tend to lose sleep as a result of sleep apnea.
Studies are also showing that individuals who smoke are more likely to have OSA as are those individuals with diabetes.
Even sex can be a determiner. Men tend to have sleep apnea more often than women.
Thus, while weight is a major factor with sleep apnea, weight alone does not determine if youll have trouble sleeping as a result of untreated sleep apnea. Blood pressure, nasal congestion, a nicotine habit, and gender also plays a part in if you have sleep apnea.
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Using Your Cpap For Weight Loss
Before we can cover the solution, we need to explain the problem which is sleep apnea and weight gain. Obesity increases the risk for obstructive sleep apnea because when the fatty tissues around your throat become larger, they become heavier, making it easier for them to collapse on your throat. This can also lead to more sleep disruptions, increasing sleep apnea symptoms.
However, even though being overweight increases the risk of sleep apnea, it affects people of all shapes and sizes. Some individuals simply have a narrow airway or large tonsils. But sleep apnea can attribute to weight gain.
When you experience an apnea or period during sleep when your breathing stops, your body is prevented from receiving proper restorative rest. This leads to crippling day time fatigue that can interfere with your schedule. You may not feel like you have the energy to stick to your workout routine or diet. It feels much easier to go home with fast food and lay on the couch.
Hormone Effects: Lack of sleep also impacts crucial hormones for regulating appetites such as leptin and ghrelin. Sleep apnea lowers levels of leptin which is responsible for signaling to your brain that youre full and have had enough to eat. It also increases levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. So, you cant see to fill up and continue reaching for snacks all day.
Along with weight gain and obesity sleep apnea can increase the risk of:
- High blood pressure
- Inability to concentrate
Does Weight Loss Cure Sleep Apnea
As mentioned, Sleep Apnea and weight do not have a direct causal link. So, while losing a significant amount of weight has helped in reducing the symptoms of Sleep Apnea for some people, the answer truly depends on individual circumstances.
It is good to note that the American College of Physicians recommends weight loss be part of the overall treatment of Sleep Apnea for people who are overweight, along with CPAP therapy 5.
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Weight Loss After Sleep Apnea Treatment
A study presented by the Endocrine Society 2019 in New Orleans shows that sleep apnea treatment can help patients lose more weight. As the first line of treatment, CPAP machine is used to push air into your lungs and open up the throat so you can sleep comfortably throughout the night.
According to scientists, however, CPAP will also help you to lose weight faster which is crucial in the management and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The link between sleep apnea can be understood better when you visit in the AURhinoplastyBrisbane site read about snoring and overweight. But how exactly does sleep apnea treatment do this?
There is a very close relationship between good sleep and weight loss. The reason for this is because sound sleep enables your body to rest, repair and rejuvenate. As a result, the body will not hold on to excess fat if you exercise and follow a low-calorie diet.
Low metabolism is one of the reasons why its so hard to lose weight. However, if you are to get sound sleep as a result of CPAP therapy, your metabolism will improve. The Digestive system will work more efficiently and faster weight loss is guaranteed.
When the brain is well-rested, it will communicate more effectively with the body and send signals of weight loss in real-time. A tired brain is not only dangerous but its also ineffective as far as body operations are concerned.
Losing Weight Can Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Overweight Patients Study Shows
- Date:
- American Thoracic Society
- Summary:
- For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea , a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study.
For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea , a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Weight loss may not be a new miracle pill or a fancy high-tech treatment, but it is an exciting therapy for sufferers of OSA both because of its short- and long-term effectiveness and for its relatively modest price tag. Surgery doesn’t last, continuous positive airway pressure machines are only as effective as the patient’s adherence, and most other devices have had disappointing outcomes, in addition to being expensive, unwieldy and having poor patient compliance. Furthermore, OSA is generally only treated when it has progressed to a moderate to severe state.
“Very low calorie diet combined with active lifestyle counseling resulting in marked weight reduction is a feasible and effective treatment for the majority of patients with mild OSA, and the achieved beneficial outcomes are maintained at 1-year follow-up,” wrote Henri P.I. Tuomilehto, M.D., Ph.D., of the department of Otorhinolaryngology at the Kuopio University Hospital in Finland.
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Does Weight Loss Method Matter In Osa
With several options for losing weight, many OSA patients want to know which one is best for sleep apnea. Some of the best weight loss methods include:
- Dietary changes
- Medications
- Surgery
Doctors usually prescribe dietary and exercise interventions as a first-line treatment for obesity. Obese patients who are unlikely or unable to achieve adequate weight loss through behavior modifications may consider pharmacological or surgical interventions. There is evidence that behavioral modification is just as effective as certain weight-loss surgeries in improving OSA. Encouragingly, exercise alone can modestly improve the severity of OSA, even without significant weight loss.
Regardless of technique, OSA improvement is proportional to the amount of weight lost. Therefore, patients should discuss with their doctor which weight loss strategy is best-suited to their personal circumstances, overall health, and their OSA severity.
Cpap May Aid In Patient Weight Loss
Over the course of 16 weeks, OSA patients receiving CPAP treatment lost 5.7 pounds more on average than patients not receving CPAP therapy.
For obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea , using a continuous positive airway pressure machine to treat their sleep disorder may be a way to lose weight as well as treat their symptoms, according to the results of a new study.
The study, which was presented at the Endocrine Society 2019 Annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, LA, found that OSA patients undergoing CPAP treatment lost an average of 5.7 pounds more in 16 weeks than OSA patients who did not receive CPAP therapy.
To determine the impact of CPAP therapy on weight loss, investigators evaluated medical records of 501 obese adults treated in a weight loss clinic at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences from Jan. 2014 through Aug. 2017. All patients underwent an intensive 16-week program that included eating a diet of 800 calories a day, exercise programs, and weekly individual counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Those 3 groups were patients with no reported symptoms , patients who had OSA symptoms but did not receive a CPAP machine , and patients who reported symptoms and received a CPAP machine . OSA severity could not be determined because not all patients had a sleep study.
The study, The Impact of CPAP on Intensive Calorie Restriction Weight Loss, was presented at ENDO 2019.
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Treatment For Sleep Apnea
Because of the clear link between sleep apnea and body weight, many medical professionals recommend weight loss as a treatment for sleep apnea. Most people who are overweight and have sleep apnea will improve if they lose weight. Dr. Snow may also recommend a breathing device, such as a continuous positive airway pressure machine, to help you breathe at night and get quality sleep.
If youre stuck in the vicious cycle of sleep apnea and weight gain, you could benefit from professional weight loss help or weight loss surgery. To find out if weight loss surgery is right for you, schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Snow today by one of our convenient Texas locations or request an appointment online.
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Cpap May Boost Weight Loss For Dieting Adults
March 26, 2019 — Obese adults with obstructive sleep apnea who follow a calorie-restricted diet can lose more weight if they also use a CPAP machine, according to a new study.
“CPAP can actually facilitate weight loss,” says study leader Yuanjie Mao, MD, an endocrinology fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He presented the findings Saturday in New Orleans at Endocrine 2019, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.
The findings presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary until peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
Sleep apnea is more common in obese people. It happens when people temporarily stop breathing, sometimes 30 times an hour or more, because their throat muscles relax too much and close the airway. The CPAP machine pumps pressurized air into their throat and lungs, keeping the throat muscles open.
Mao says the finding might lessen the resistance many patients have when their doctor suggests they use a CPAP. Patients often ask if they can try to lose weight first so they won’t need the machine, he says. Based on the study findings, his new approach is to tell patients they may lose more weight if they start both at the same time.
But two doctors who reviewed the study aren’t yet convinced that the findings apply across the board.
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Does Weight Loss Aid In Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea. It is a disorder in which people experience disrupted breathing during their sleep, at times 30 times an hour or more, because of a blocked airway.
OSA patients also have an increased risk of developing other health conditions, including stroke and high blood pressure.
But as the scientific community learns more about the sleep disorder, mounting evidence has been establishing an important link between excess weight and sleep apnea. And considering how an estimated 60 to 90% of people who suffer from sleep apnea are overweight or obese, this evidence may explain why excess weight is also considered a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea.
That said:
Its not surprising that an increasing number of studies also show that weight loss decreases the severity of sleep apnea. And in many cases, it does not only reduce its severity, it may also help in improving the quality of an OSA patients sleep.
And just like with many diseases, lifestyle modifications can also provide a number of improvements in OSA. For instance, weight loss can reduce fat deposits in the neck, which can restrict airflow by blocking a patients upper airway.
Losing weight can also reduce abdominal fat, which in turn improves your lung capacity, and may decrease pauses in breathing that often happens in sleep apnea.
In fact:
That said:
Patients may still need other therapies to treat sleep apnea, even after losing weight.
Detecting And Treating Sleep Apnea
The two main reasons to detect and treat OSA are to improve symptoms and decrease cardiovascular risks. There are good data to show that treatment of OSA improves symptoms and quality of life.
The gold standard for diagnosing OSA is through a sleep study called polysomnography. In this test, the severity of OSA is given a rating based on the Apnea Hypopnea Index . A test will show the hourly rate of apneas and hypopneas averaged over the total sleep time.
- Normal: 4 per hour or less.
- Mild: 5 to 14 per hour.
- Moderate: 15 to 29 per hour.
- Severe: 30 per hour or higher.
Therapeutic options for snoring and sleep apnea include reducing nasal congestion or obstruction, positional therapy, nasal continuous positive airway pressure , oral appliances, the nasal expiratory positive airway pressure device, oral pressure therapy or surgery. CPAP/BiPAP remains the most effective therapy for OSA. The other options are viable in specific circumstances.
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Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
People who have obstructive sleep apnea have periods of sleep that are interrupted by apneas, or pauses in breathing. The causes of this are as varied as the patients who have it, but there is a definite link between sleep apnea and having extra body fat. Physicians are positive that this link exists, because when patients with sleep apnea lose weight, their sleep apnea improves.
In addition, some patients with obesity can develop a very rare form of sleep apnea called the obesity hypoventilation syndrome. These patients also have poor breathing while awake, which causes them to have low oxygen and high carbon dioxide.
The Importance Of Your Food Intake
If youre looking to drop some weight while improving yoursleep, then the types of foods you consume play a significant role in theprocess. Not only will making the right dietary choices help to trim yourwaistline, but it will also aid in your recovery from OSA, since the conditionis exacerbated by increased neck girth due to weight gain.
Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
- Limit your consumption of processed foods.
- Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into yourdiet.
- Drink at least half your weight in ounces ofwater. For example, a 200-pound person would need to drink at least 100 ouncesof water daily.
- Stop eating at least an hour before retiring forbed, so that your body isnt forced to process food while youre attempting torest.
About the Author
Dr. J. Peter St. Clair is a graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. With over twenty years of experience, he provides comprehensive and compassionate dental care. Dr. St. Clair helps his patients rest better and recover from sleep apnea at his private practice, and he can be reached for more information through his website.
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