How Exercise Improves Your Sleep Apnea Symptoms
It’s no secret that exercise is good for your health. When people imagine committing to an exercise regimen, they usually picture a gym, a difficult workout, and an entire life change. However, something as simple as walking for even just 30 minutes per day, five days a week, can positively impact your life in many ways. Some of them include improving your heart health, lowering your risk of several cancers, improving your mental health, decreasing your sleep apnea severity, and improving bone health. Keep reading to learn more about how exercise improves your life other than weight loss, and how sleep apnea treatment can get you on the right track.
Exercise Improves Your Heart Health
One of the most important benefits of regular exercise is that it improves your heart health. According to Harvard University, physical activity triggers changes in your blood vessels, muscles, metabolism, and brain — all of which promote better heart health. prevent or improve all the major risk factors that contribute to heart disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. In addition, regular exercise helps prevent early death from heart disease, as noted in an article published Sept. 13, 2022, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
How it Works
Exercise strengthens your heart, which makes it run more efficiently. As you continue exercising every day, your heart’s chambers increase in size and are able to pump more efficiently with less effort.
Types of exercise that are great for the heart include brisk walking, jogging, yoga, gardening, yard work, or bodyweight exercises such as push-ups or sit-ups.
Another risk factor for heart issues is sleep apnea. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, incorporating exercise into your life will not only help your sleep apnea but also help reduce your risk of developing heart issues, as well. If you have been told that you snore, you wake up with a dry mouth, you suffer from daytime fatigue, or you suffer from morning headaches frequently, chances are, you are also suffering from sleep apnea.
In addition, stress can lead to heart issues. Managing your stress is important if you are at a high risk of developing a heart issue, such as having sleep apnea. Exercise can help manage your stress levels and improve your sleep, both of which are important in treating sleep apnea, as well.
Lowers Your Risk of Several Cancers
If you are overweight or obese and are at a high risk of developing certain types of cancer, committing to exercise and regular physical activity can help lower your risk significantly. According to the CDC, some of these cancers include:
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Lung cancer
- Stomach cancer
Being overweight or obese puts you at a high risk of developing many health issues. Managing your weight, including incorporating an exercise regimen, will help you significantly reduce these risks. This can also be true for individuals who are otherwise at a high risk of developing cancer for other reasons, such as family history.
In addition, people who are overweight or obese also likely suffer from sleep apnea due to the excess weight being placed on their airways. Managing your weight through exercise benefits your health in many ways, especially when it comes to reducing your cancer risk and improving your sleep apnea symptoms, which can lead to deadly health issues.
How it Works
One of the key ways that exercise helps reduce your risk of developing cancer is that a regular exercise routine helps manage your weight. Managing your weight and staying at a healthy weight can significantly reduce your risk of many health issues, cancer being one of them.
Regular exercise also helps prevent cancer by regulating your hormones, boosting your immune system, and getting you up off your big, comfy couch (or armchair). Sitting for prolonged periods of time can be linked to developing cancer, and it can also cause you to gain more weight over time. Rather than sitting on the couch and watching TV, invest in a walking pad or spread out on the living room floor to do some stretches.
Improves Mental Health
Feeling depressed, anxious, stressed, or otherwise going through a difficult time? One of the best things you can do for your mental health is to get your body moving. Giving your anxiety, stress, and depression an outlet through exercise, rather than turning into stress through your body, can help improve your mental health symptoms.
Did you know that studies show exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication? Endorphins are very powerful in fighting mental health issues and these same endorphins can also help improve memory function, give you more energy, and help improve your sleep quality.
In addition, exercise routines help you feel accomplished. Small wins, such as going a few minutes or miles longer on a run, up a few pounds on a weight, or otherwise achieving a new personal best can boost your self-esteem, confidence, and promote other healthy habits for the rest of the day.
How it Works
Endorphins are a powerful, natural drug that your body produces to make you feel good. Not only do they help your mood, but endorphins can help with pain relief, reduce stress, and reduce your cravings for drugs and alcohol.
Exercise is a powerful depression fighter for several reasons. Most importantly, it promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Finally, exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression.
Improves Bone Health
Exercise stimulates bone-forming cells, making it a great way to treat and improve your bone health. If you are at a high risk of developing arthritis or other bone conditions, your doctor will likely instruct you to begin a regular exercise regimen.
The earlier you begin exercising for your bone health (among other reasons), the more of an impact you will have. This does not mean to give up hope if you are an older individual—starting an exercise routine at any age can be done; just talk to your doctor about the right amount of exercise for you and your medical needs.
How it Works
As mentioned, exercise stimulates bone-forming cells, which strengthens your bones and makes them more dense. In addition, practicing balance exercises, such as yoga, can help significantly reduce your risk of falls. Falling can cause fractures and other bone issues.
In addition, exercising strengthens your muscle mass. Muscles protect the bones and give them more cushion during falls or other issues. If you are more prone to falls, exercise can help keep you safe in the event of a fall.
Decreases Sleep Apnea Severity
If you are struggling with loud snoring or other symptoms of sleep apnea, one of the best things you can do to reduce your symptoms is to start exercising. There are many lifestyle changes involved when you are treating sleep apnea, including maintaining a healthy weight, finding ways to get on a better sleep schedule, and eating healthier. Beginning an exercise regimen will help with all of these factors, as well as improve your airway quality.
How it Works
Exercise decreased the number of apnea episodes, showing a significant improvement in OSA severity, as reported in the medical journal Lung. Benefits occurred even with minimal weight loss, showing exercise’s impact through improved airway function. Exercise increases sleep efficiency, helping patients achieve better-quality rest. Patients reported a reduction in sleepiness on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, meaning that they were more alert during the day.
The meta-analysis examined five studies with 129 sleep apnea participants, analyzing the impact of supervised exercise on OSA severity. The studies found that exercise decreased the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) by 6.27 events per hour. This clinically meaningful improvement can enhance patients’ quality of life. These improvements occurred with even small changes in body mass index (BMI), shifting the focus from weight loss to the direct physiological benefits of exercise. This underscores the importance of advocating for physical activity as part of a holistic OSA management plan for dental sleep professionals.
Understanding Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a difficult condition that can cause a host of health issues. Some of these include:
- Heart attack
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Diabetes and insulin resistance
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Dementia
Luckily, getting more exercise can improve your sleep apnea symptoms, as well as reduce your risk for the above health issues, all at the same time.
If you are worried about sleep apnea treatment or not sure if you are a good candidate, we can help you. Don’t worry: You do not need to sign up for a lifetime commitment to a CPAP machine. There are other ways to treat sleep apnea that do not involve a CPAP machine or other invasive methods such as surgery.
The Vivos Method for sleep apnea treatment can treat your sleep apnea in as little as 12 months, depending on your commitment to treatment. Sleep apnea does not go away or improve completely on its own; even with a regular exercise regimen, treatment is usually required.
Sleep Apnea Treatment with Gorman Health and Wellness
Dr. Gorman is a part of the breathing wellness movement, which aims to increase awareness and improve treatment for sleep-related airway conditions like sleep apnea. He has partnered with organizations focused on collaborating with dentists to apply the sciences of Craniofacial Epigenetics (the study of cranial modifications caused by gene expression as opposed to genetic code alteration) and Pneumopedics® (the practical application of oral appliance therapy and non-surgical airway remodeling) in the management of sleep apnea.
Together, the application of these sciences allows for underlying causes of airway obstruction to be treated in 98% of cases, resulting in a high success rate among sleep apnea patients. For every sleep apnea case at our practice, Dr. Gorman will gather patient data and determine the patient’s specific needs based on home sleep test results, dental impressions, CT scans, and images. Our state-of-the-art technology, paired with Dr. Gorman’s experience with sleep disorders, allows him to find the most effective treatment plan for each individual’s particular case, yielding improved daytime and nighttime breathing for the patient.
“I have been helping people suffering from Sleep Apnea with a non-invasive, clinically approved treatment method. This method has allowed my patients to sleep with far fewer events per hour allowing them to get rid of their CPAP and BiPAP machines. Imagine not having to use one of those machines, getting back a much greater quality of life along with the benefits of being able to breathe better.” – Dr. Gorman.
For more information on Dr. Gorman and improving your sleep apnea, visit us at MGormanDental.com!
