Tee Off on This: Sleep Better, Golf Better

Lu / CC BY 2.0

I don't know any avid golfer who isn't looking for tips to improve his or her game. Some of my golfing friends are real fanatics, incessantly talking about ways to reduce the number of strokes it takes to get through eighteen holes. And now I finally have proof to make a case for my area of expertise: better sleep. Equipment, weather conditions, athleticism, and technique aside, if you can get your game on at night, you can get your game on over the greens. Seriously.

I'm not making this up. A study out of Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey found a group of golfers that improved their golf game by up to three strokes. Granted, these golfers suffered from sleep apnea and were users of the C-PAP, a continuous positive airway pressure mask that helps them sleep better. But my guess is that if a study were done on the general golfing population, we'd see similar findings: those who sleep better, golf better.

Why? Easy. Consider the following benefits of a good night's sleep:

• Better concentration and ability to focus.
• Better hand-eye coordination.
• Alertness.
• Sharper memory (to recall the level of difficulty or technical secrets to a certain hole, the course terrain, etc.)

All of this bodes well for the golfer-or any sports player for that matter.

So, why were researchers looking at the effects of a C-PAP on golfers in particular? Sounds like an odd thing to report on. But not when you consider that savvy supporters of the C-PAP (myself included) are always looking for ways to motivate people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea to wear these highly-effective devices. It also turns out that the better you are at golf, the more you have to gain (or lose, depending on how you look at it from a stroke perspective) from achieving restful sleep at night. The more adept golfers in the study lost the most strokes.

Now go sleep. And go play.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

Related Topics:

• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
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Trouble Keeping Up with Your CPAP?

It's widely known in sleep medicine circles that the most common - and helpful - treatment we have these days for patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the CPAP machine, short for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. If you've been diagnosed with OSA, then you know exactly what I mean.

The problem with CPAP therapy is that not a lot of people are good about using it on a routine basis. Or, like trying to start a ambitious exercise program, they are compliant at the start and then slowly drop off. Within a few months, they are rarely found using their CPAP. And sleeping poorly as a result.

But there's hope: new research that just surfaced and was presented last week at a conference in San Diego has revealed that when patients are prescribed just a two-week course of a certain sleep aid (the one marketed as Lunesta), they are more apt to be using their CPAP in six months.

Lunesta is one of the more popular prescribed sleep aids, which can help you to fall asleep and stay asleep by enhancing the activity of a sleep-friendly chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). My guess and experience is that many of the sleep aids in this category would work as well.

So I ask you:

• Do you have OSA?


• Do you have a CPAP collecting dust in your closet or beside table?


• Are you tired of being tired?


• Have you ever heard about apnea and how it can affect your health and relationship?

If you answered yes (and I know there are a lot of you out there) then you may want to take up this conversation with your doctor. Using a sleep aid for a short period of time in conjunction with a CPAP appears to be able to help you set an important pattern in your nightly routine. You'll get used to using the CPAP, and feel the difference a good night's sleep brings.

I know, the CPAP isn't the sexiest of devices, especially for a bedroom. But it can transform an OSA-sufferer's sleep. OSA is associated with some pretty unwanted health consequences - from heart problems to mood and memory problems, and even weight issues. Yet there's no consequence to using a CPAP machine other than better sleep, better health...and a happier bed partner who doesn't have to listen to your episodic breathing (and probably snoring) all night.

It's time to put OSA to bed.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, FAASM
The Sleep Doctor

This article about Obstructive Sleep Apnea is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Sleep Apnea Health Center
• Sinus, Snoring, Sleep Apnea: Jordan S. Josephson, MD
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly

Snoring: A Health Hazard or a Harmless Habit?

When I tell people that snoring can be a sign of a serious health problem, they typically act surprised because snoring is so common. In other words, how can it be so serious if it's so universal?

Approximately 90 million American adults snore, and of those 37 million snore on a regular basis. It's a problem among all ages and both genders, but it seems to affect men more than women, and it can worsen with age.

Snoring is a turbulence problem. Air rushes down a tube that causes a vibration in the tissue, which causes a cadence and then a snore. This can cause frequent disruptions in a person's sleep (not to mention the other person trying to sleep in the same bed). Snorers generally don't wake up feeling as refreshed as they should.

So, what makes this so dangerous?

It can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common sleep disorder I've blogged about several times. People with OSA briefly stop breathing multiple times during the night when the muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep their airway open. This results in fragmented, poor sleep, as well as low blood oxygen levels. OSA has been associated with an increased risk for myriad health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, mood and memory problems.

Not everyone who snores has OSA, but the link between the two is well documented, and research showing the strong association between snoring and cardiovascular problems continues to come out. The good news is treating OSA is pretty simple these days thanks to the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, or CPAP.

This nifty device, which forces the airway to stay open so breathing is possible, is the best we have right now for treating sleep apnea. Sleep becomes much more restful and solid; it also shuts up the snoring that frequently accompanies that apnea. People who sleep with a snorer often rejoice, as data shows that sleeping with a snorer can steal about 1 hour of sleep. CPAP has others ways of saving lives; check out my previous post here.

Is there a way to nix the OSA and the snoring altogether? Yes, but the cure isn't necessarily the easiest to achieve. Of all the risk factors for OSA, weight and physical activity factor heavily in that risk. People who have thick necks are more likely to experience OSA due to the extra fat they have at the back of their throats, which can be an underlying cause to the blocked airway. Studies also have shown that OSA wanes among people who begin exercise programs, regardless of weight loss. Losing weight and boosting exercise both require lifestyle shifts that aren't always easy. The benefits are huge, though, and extend beyond the issue of OSA and snoring. Many people do not know it, but being sleep deprived, like having undiagnosed apnea, can prevent you from losing weight; it's a vicious cycle, as described in my previous blog post on weight loss and sleep loss.

The bottom line is clear: preventing OSA is largely about maintaining a healthier, more active lifestyle. If you do suffer from OSA, treating it with a CPAP will help support sound sleep, which can then foster a healthier, more efficient body. And a more efficient body will shed those extra pounds more easily, as well as energize you in ways you never thought possible before.

I've always said that the bedroom should be saved for sleep and sex only. The time has come to put snoring in its place. It's not a harmless habit. It's a health hazard, and a wake up call to action.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, FAASM
The Sleep Doctor

This sleep article is also available on Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.


Related Topics:

• Does Snoring Have You Up All Night?
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly

Sleep Disorder Saves a Life

I love an unusual story about sleep that has as good ending. Check out this headline: Sleep Disorder Helps Woman Escape Fire.

This past week a woman in Texas can thank her CPAP machine for saving her life when a fire gutted her home. For those unfamiliar with the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine), it's a device used by people with obstructive sleep apnea who have a problem that causes their airways to collapse during sleep. Their breathing essentially gets cut off multiple times during the night. With a CPAP, the airway stays open so breathing is possible. Sleep becomes much more restful and solid.

For Geraldine McNeil, here CPAP became her lifeline.

The fire broke out in the early morning hours, and, according to the report, her entire face was covered in soot and ash (and probably chemicals from the combustion, too) except for the area where the CPAP had been. Had she not had the machine on her face, she likely would have been overcome by the smoke.

I can't think of a more terrifying event than waking to a fire in your home in the middle of your sleep. We've heard plenty of stories in the news of people who don't survive such tragedies. I've never heard of a CPAP saving a life in an occurrence such as this.

Not that one would wish to have sleep apnea. But if it were me, I think I'd choose the sleep apnea and CPAP over trying to wake up in a burning house smothered by smoke and find a way out. The number one cause of death related to fires is smoke inhalation - not burns.

Hey, I know the CPAP doesn't win points for being the most attractive device, but now it's got an added benefit: Might save you during fire. Imagine that.

This article on sleep is also available at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Personal Story - Sleep Apnea
• WebMD Video: Implant May Help Sleep Apnea Patients
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly

The Eyes Have It

The associations made in medicine can be quite amazing. I just read an article online that summarizes the possible links between a common sleep disorder and eye disease. Plenty has been written about the connections between sleep and conditions like heart disease and obesity, but eye disorders? It doesn't seem like an intuitive relationship. That is, until you dig a little deeper.

The sleep disorder in question is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which afflicts more than 12 million Americans and is characterized by repeated stops and starts of breathing during sleep when throat muscles relax and block the airway. When left untreated, OSA can trigger a variety of health problems, some of which can become evident in the eye when they affect the vascular system. When a doctor looks into your eyes during an exam, he or she is checking on how healthy the blood vessels at the back appear. If they don't look right, then your doctor will want to understand why - and what the root cause of the problem is.

For some doctors, OSA may not seem like an obvious culprit.

Another sign of OSA could be floppy eye syndrome. This sounds more painful that it is: the eyelids turn inside-out spontaneously during the night, causing excessive watering and discomfort. While not a serious medical problem, OSA could be the underlying cause here, too, which can lead to more serious health problems that eventually show up in the eye.

The lesson here is simple: eye disorders or disease don't necessarily have to be isolated problems. They are often signs of other conditions in the body that affect the health of the eye. Having a doctor well-trained in looking beyond the eye itself to uncover remote - albeit fundamental - problems is important.

Proof that they eyes really do have it. How well you are sleeping isn't just written on your face. It's written in your eyes, too. Windows, indeed.

This article on sleep is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Understanding Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
• Sleep Disorder Myths