Weight loss is actually a good thing when it comes to treating certain medical conditions such as sleep apnea. To help you out, I did my own research on what weight loss can do to help your sleep apnea!
So, how much weight loss to stop sleep apnea? If you are overweight, the main idea is to get back on your normal, healthy weight to prevent causing sleep apnea.
There is no general weight since people have different natural body weight. Sometimes, no matter how much we try to lose weight, there is a natural body weight that we possess.
Some people can surpass that, but that would mean going beyond their body’s natural weight. Being overweight or obese can cause sleep apnea, so going back to your natural weight would solve the problem.
On the other hand, sleep apnea can also cause uncontrolled weight gain so, in a sense, both conditions will continue to worsen each other if the original cause is not treated.
After all, sleep apnea is recognized as an accompanying illness meaning it comes with a partner disease or invites one.
The moment you regulate your weight back to its normal condition, you can expect your sleep apnea to stop. Unless there are other causes of sleep apnea, there is no reason for weight loss to prevent sleep apnea.
Apparently, about 50% of sleep apnea patients have weight problems and it is also the cause of their sleep apnea. Today, there are approximately 22 million people who continue to suffer from sleep apnea.
Considering that number, it’s pretty clear that being obese or overweight plays a huge factor in our health so it is important to lose weight and keep a regular, balanced diet.
We must also exercise regularly to avoid health risks that can cause or worsen sleep apnea. This way, we can also stay fit.
Now that we know how much weight we need to lose to stop sleep apnea, it’s also important to learn about other things that can cause sleep apnea or worsen it. Also, I’ll be sharing some tips that can help you lose weight.
How to lose weight and stop sleep apnea
After learning about how weight loss can treat sleep apnea, the next step is finding out how you can lose weight and avoid worsening your sleep apnea because sleep apnea will make you gain weight uncontrollably.
The following tips are applicable for those who want to lose weight and avoid worsening sleep apnea that causes you to gain weight.
- Exercise regularly.
- The first to losing weight is making sure you get plenty of exercises. Other than stopping sleep apnea, it will also bring other benefits to your overall health.
- Avoid overeating.
- Again, sleep apnea causes us to feel hungry more than we normally should. Resist the temptation especially if you already ate the right amount of food for your diet.
- Follow proper sleeping position
- Make sure to elevate your head properly on the pillow to keep your neck relaxed and try sleeping on your side so the tongue does not mildly block the airway in the throat.
- Falling asleep with a wrong position may cause sleep apnea since the muscles won’t be able to relax properly.
- Stop or avoid smoking too much.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen sleep apnea. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of gaining fat. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of sleep apnea.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Drinking too much alcohol before sleeping can cause and worsen sleep apnea and hinder your weight loss just like smoking.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause sleep apnea and increase weight gain. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Maintain a proper sleep routine.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to sleep apnea and weight gain since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
- Don’t overwork yourself all the time.
- Going to sleep exhausted can make us a lot more prone to sleep apnea and weight gain. It’s important to relax a little bit at first before going to bed to lessen the risk of sleep apnea.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have sleep apnea and gain weight uncontrollably. Treat or avoid triggering your allergies to avoid sleep apnea.
- Try to use CPAP treatment
- The CPAP therapy is a commonly used method for treating sleep apnea and moderately control its symptoms such as uncontrolled weight gain.
- Try an oral appliance
- An oral appliance is a dental mouthpiece that can help keep airways open just like snoring strips. Consult your dentist if you’re looking for an oral appliance. It can control sleep apnea.
Why weight loss may not stop sleep apnea
Sleep apnea treatment will be different depending on what causes it. Therefore, if your weight does not cause sleep apnea, then losing weight may not really stop it at all.
To find out what may potentially cause your sleep apnea, the best way to do is to sign up for a “sleep study” where health experts will observe your sleep to determine what kind of sleep apnea you have and how to treat it.
If you’re not ready for a sleep study, check out this list of potential reasons why you may be prone to sleep apnea.
Keep in mind that some of these reasons cannot be avoided at all, but will let you know why losing weight is not the cure for your sleep apnea.
- Hypothyroidism
- The condition wherein your body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which is needed to control how to use energy received from food through metabolism. Bad metabolism can affect heartbeat and breathing.
- Acromegaly
- Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
- Allergies
- There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
- Smoking cigarettes
- Excessive smoking can cause sleep apnea or worsen it
- Drinking liquor
- Too much liquor and drinking before going to sleep can cause sleep apnea.
- Drug usage
- Sedations or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea or worse.
- Being male
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea more than females
- Being old
- Observations also revealed that older adults are more prone to sleep apnea than younger ones due to more complicated health issues that may trigger sleep apnea
Other natural causes of sleep apnea can be a thick neck, narrow throat and having a round head. Avoid triggering your allergies or get medications for other conditions to cure your sleep apnea.
How sleep apnea causes you to gain weight
Sleep apnea can cause you to gain weight since having sleep apnea may lead to sleep deprivation and lack of sleep slows down the body’s metabolism.
A slowed down metabolism means your body can’t burn fat as it normally should causing you to have an uncontrolled weight gain.
The reason why sleep apnea slows down metabolism is that it causes difficulty in breathing and even stops heartbeats for brief seconds while asleep.
When the body experiences “abnormalities” from a sleep apnea attack, the muscles will not be able to relax and use energy to keep us breathing,
Since the body cannot rest well, it most likely won’t have energy spared for losing weight. The lack of energy will also cause you to unconsciously eat more.
During sleep apnea attacks, we may also wake up for a few seconds without knowing it to gasp for air. These tiny seconds already exhausts our body and takes away sleeping time resulting in sleep deprivation.
It has been observed in various studies that lack of sleep can cause uncontrollable weight loss or weight gain and having sleep apnea can worsen that.
When we don’t sleep enough, our body produces more hormones called “Ghrelin” and it makes us want to eat more than the usual diet we follow.
Another hormone is the “Leptin” that makes us stop eating and we don’t get enough leptin hormones when we are sleep deprived.
The last hormone that contributes to weight gain when we have sleep apnea is insulin. Somehow, the lack of sleep is giving similar conditions to becoming diabetic.
Insulin’s job is to make glucose enter our cells and when we are sleep deprived, the body stops the insulin’s activities and on top of it, insulin increases leptin which means the body will want to eat more!
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes sleep deprivation which will mess up our hormones that also control the body’s control over weight.
An opposite perspective, on the other hand, suggests that obesity can also cause sleep apnea which means it can be the other way around. By losing weight, you can cure your sleep apnea.
Related Questions
- Can sleep apnea cause diabetes?
Yes, sleep apnea can cause diabetes. When we are sleep deprived due to sleep apnea, it disrupts the way our body functions and prevents our insulin from working the way it should.
Read: “How does sleep apnea cause diabetes?”
- Can sleep apnea cause hypertension?
Yes, sleep apnea can cause hypertension.
When we experience difficulty in breathing because of obstructive sleep apnea, the blood oxygen levels will suddenly drop and increases blood pressure.
Read: “How does sleep apnea cause hypertension?” for more.
