When we think about professional athletes we usually picture them as perfect physical specimens with no health issues.  This doesn’t seem to be the case with football players and sleep-related breathing disorders.  A study in the journal SLEEP found that NFL players have a higher risk of these disorders than the regular guys who watch the games from the couch.

The study included 137 NFL players.  They each performed an at-home sleep test which measured whether or not they stopped breathing while they were sleeping.  Results indicated that 19% of the football players had sleep apnea.  Five percent of them had moderate to severe cases.

The players also completed a sleep questionnaire.  All of the players in the study reported snoring.  Daytime sleepiness and breathing pauses while asleep affected 25% of the players.  Past studies of football players have shown that linemen in particular have a higher risk of sleep apnea than other players.  This is because they are typically larger, with a high body mass index and large neck sizes.  Both factors are contributors to obstructive sleep apnea.  This particular study did not confirm the previous data about the linemen being at higher risk than the other players however.

Football fans remember Reggie White who was a Pro Football Hall of Fame member who died suddenly.  Reports suggest that sleep apnea may have played a role in his death and the NFL trainers encourage larger players to get tested.

Left untreated obstructive sleep apnea raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and even death.   If you snore, have a high body mass index or a large neck size you should be screened for possible sleep related breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea.  The disorder is treated using CPAP therapy or a custom oral appliance that helps keep your airway open as you sleep.

While the CPAP is the normally prescribed  treatment, the majority of patients find sleeping with the machine uncomfortable and stop using it.  Oral appliance therapy, on the other hand, has a much higher rate of compliance for patients over the long term.

Please contact Dr. Mark Levy at 614-476-6696 to find out how oral appliance therapy can help you sleep, and breath, more soundly.