Sunday, March 7, 2010

Sleep Apnea and exercise

Exercise, no matter what kind of exercise, is always good for your general and mental health. Just getting out and doing a little walking can lift up mood and make for a better day. Unfortunately the problem with sleep apnea is that you probably don’t have any energy to exercise, thus depriving your self of the natural high that you receive during exercise and giving your heart a workout.

Why is exercise so important to sleep apnea sufferers?

The most obvious reason is staying in shape. Being overweight is common among sleep apnea patients. Even the slightest bit of exercise, combined with a proper diet can produce some weight loss. The thing to remember is to start out slow, walk for 15 or 20 minutes, at a comfortable rate every day. When you feel that you walk longer than do it. As far as the diet is concerned start slow on that too. Cut back on some foods at first, the key is to let your body get used to less food. If you combine the diet with walking you’ll find that after a short period of time the weight will come off. And remember that less weight means that your apnea wouldn’t be as bad. It wouldn’t be cured but it wouldn’t be as bad.

Why would exercise give me a better mental outlook?

It is difficult to say why exercise makes us feel better. One theory is that exercise helps to release endorphins which lift our spirits up, but there are others that disagree with that theory. The one thing that I know is that I feel much better after walking or doing any kind of exercise.

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3 comments:

  1. I loved your article – it was some great information. I think you and your readers might be interested in another article I found on Medical and Dry Eyes.

    www.whatistheeye.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you still sleep with a wedge pillow?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes I think that the wedge pillow helps.

    ReplyDelete