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OSA in Athletes – The Good and the Ugly
Sleep Apnea & NFL Player Reggie White:
Almost 15 years ago, in 2004, the unforeseen death of a WWE wrestler, turned professional NFL legend, Reggie White completely devastated the sports world. He was just 43 years old. His No. 92 jersey has been retired by the Volunteers, Eagles and Packers. His untimely death caused everyone to take a closer look at the scary health risks of untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea and how it can directly cause complications and indirectly cause death. White lived with an inflammatory disease that affects his organs known as sarcoidosis and also suffered from Sleep Apnea. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in treating his OSA with CPAP therapy. According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, White suffered a fatal cardiac arrhythmia leading to sudden death in his sleep.
Sleep Apnea & MLB Player Josh James:
Josh James is a Major League Baseball Pitcher and has experienced his ups and downs in his baseball career. Often on the road for away games, he garnered a reputation for his snoring amongst his teammates. James was going through a low period. He started to gain weight, was plagued with chronic fatigue and delivered lukewarm performance game after game.
James was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. He decided to tackle his OSA with CPAP therapy and that meant taking a CPAP machine with him on the road to every away game. As his Sleep Apnea was being managed and his performance started to flourish.
On the field, James delivered fastballs over 100 mph and strong innings with numerous strikeouts against a tough offence against the Angels, something he’s never done before!
Take-Home Message
Both White and James’ stories with two completely different outcomes go to show just how important sleep is and how it affects all aspects of our lives. An OSA diagnosis can change your life - for better or for worse. Education on OSA and related breathing disorders can save lives. CPAP Therapy is only one of many treatment options. There’s positional sleeping devices, surgery or oral appliances which all have excellent success rates in treating OSA.
A healthy life includes a healthy sleep. Treatment is certainly not one fits all, or maybe easy to get use to, but it’s certainly worthwhile in the long run.
Other Athletes Excelling On CPAP Therapy
How Age Affects Your Sleep
True or false?
Compared to younger individuals, older adults need less sleep?
If you answered true, you are incorrect! Older adults need an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night - the same as their younger counterparts. Contrary to many misconceptions, the amount of sleep required to stay healthy does not decrease as we age. However, it may be a challenge to obtain all those hours all in a night.
There are notable changes to our sleep as we get older. 50-60% of older adults report they have problems sleeping. In addition to changes in how much we sleep, our patterns of sleep also change.
As we age, our bodies start to produce less melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that controls the body's natural sleep/wake cycle. It is released in high doses into the blood in the evening to help you feel sleepy and will remain high until the morning.
As we age, we experience a shift in our internal clock and how our body regulates sleep. The window in which our internal clock enables sleep narrows. This can mean we fall asleep earlier in the evening and wake up much earlier than we want to.
Older adults spend less time in rapid-eye-movement (REM) deep sleep and more time in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep, specifically in the N1 stage, the lightest phase of sleep. This means, as we get older, we may experience less satisfying sleep.
Insomnia is common in adults 60 and older. Insomnia includes trouble falling asleep, waking up several times a night or waking up too early altogether. This can be due to the lack of time spent in REM sleep and also as a side effect caused by other chronic conditions such as arthritis.
The most common sleep disorders that affect ageing adults include Sleep Apnea and Restless Leg Syndrome. Sleep Apnea causes you to momentarily stop breathing - sometimes dozens of times an hour - which prevents the body from entering a deepened state of sleep. Restless leg syndrome is an uncomfortable and uncontrollable leg tingling sensation while you're trying to fall asleep.
Sleep problems often arise, go undiagnosed and untreated simply because many of us believe sleep problems are a normal part of ageing. Luckily, by prioritizing underlying medical conditions, understanding how our sleep changes, and strategizing a good sleep routine and environment, we can all positively improve sleep. It's not all bad news when we age. Sleep improves with retirement. A French study found people were 26% less likely to report sleep problems in the first 7 years of retirement. Vive la difference!