The Concept of Sleep Apnea - Research Paper Example

? The Use Of Exercise To Reduce Sleep Apnea Discussion Up to they are only few studies have been conducted to examine the effects of physical activity in reducing the severity of OSA. All of the studies critiqued were able to establish the relationship between physical activity and the improvement in the quality of life and sleep among sleep apnea patients. . The researches vary in several ways for instance, some studies involved few participants, as less as 10 (n=10), while some studies involved more than 100 participants, excluding the control group (no exercise). Some studies had only two groups, the control group and the samples. Consequently, all the 9 conducted studies reported that AHI was significantly lower in OSA patient who practiced exercise as a remedy. Three RCTs reported that exercise independently reduces the severity of OSA, however it is reported to be less effective compared to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), oral appliance and surgical interventions. In those studies the participant blindness to the intervention was impossible while the blindness of data collection personnel to participant intervention were not mentioned. Lack of blindness may affect the accuracy of data collection. The two studies that conducted by Kline and colleagues in 2011 and 2012 were counted for only one evidence because the authors published the same article in two different journals, which considered double publication. One RCT study and the five observation studies reported that exercise in combination with the traditional interventions of CPAP and diet reduced the OSA severity. The small sample sizes as well as the reliance on survey and self-reports limit the generalizability of findings. Although all of the studies utilized moderate intensity exercise to treat OSA, the mode, frequency, and duration were diverse. The types of exercise were varied from walking on the treadmill, bicyclic, jogging, and stretching. Both the duration and frequency of exercise were also varied. They were ranged from 1 hour per week to 3 hours per week for a time period range from a minimum of 12 weeks to a maximum of 12 months. These variations in application confused the research’s consumer and unable them to come up with new recommendations for best practice. This concludes that despite having a few amounts of studies that utilized exercise as an intervention for reducing the severity of OSA we still lack of knowledge on the exact exercise dose (mode, intensity, and duration) that is associated with more reduction in OSA severity. Further research is needed to compare and contrast the effect of those different presented exercise doses in OSA severity. The studies used different kinds of exercise like jogging, cycling and walking on a treadmill among other methods to set some motions on the body muscles. Different people would have different response to such exercise. The study did not categorize the participants in accordance to their body size and weights for more accurate results. Obese kid may take several weeks before the impacts of exercise on OSA are clearly indicated. Different people correspond differently to body exercises. There are those whose muscles are strengthened after a few reps on the treadmill while a few may take more than 3 weeks before their muscles sense the changes in the body movements. The research ought to have considered reports from exercise experts before making verdicts, other than producing generalized results. Although Dr. Kline laments that his study indicated that exercise can reduce the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) by 25% there is a group of thought that exercise could have some negative impacts on human health. The research team did not mention consulting the participants’ doctors before subjecting them in the exercise session. This may result in some complications depending on individual health conditions. Participants with heart conditions may worsen their health condition on a sudden body exercise. It is advised that such patients should avoid heavy work or exercise to limit chances of increased heart beats. The study was to provide a solution to the health condition and not worsen any. The research team ought to have considered the legal implications of any study involving human health. Furthermore, exercise would only be a remedy for normal human but not the physically handicapped that may support themselves on the treadmill or jog around. Although there are special exercise equipment for the physically handicapped, such equipment are only affordable by a few individuals. The research team ought to have considered this unfortunate group in the society. They too suffer from OSA. Some limitations would be experienced in assessing the sleeping habits of the participants, both patients and the control group. The majority of these studies are conducted during the day in a certain organization or establishment. After the physical exercise session, the majority of participants and the patients would go back to their residences. Recording the number of hours each participant spent asleep require special dedication. Some of the parameters used to indicate the effectiveness of physical exercise on OSA are sleep duration and intensity of snoring among others. The research team ought to have come up with better indicators rather than the above mentioned. Take an instance of the recording sleeping period of and snoring intensity of over 100 participants. Some results were on an assumption basis. There would be some difficulties in attaining the participants. We live in a tight economy generation where getting over 100 study participants would be difficult. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the 100 participants would be willing to engage in some physical exercise. Take for instance, an obese lady who barely walks due to her weight then, asking her stand on the treadmill. The participant may opt to decline her participations, since this is kind of a torture. Distinguishing patients from the normal group may be difficult. It requires a keen expert monitor to ascertain whether one is an OSA patient. A mix up of patients and normal individuals may compromise the accuracy of the results. The parameters used to ascertain OSA patients may result from other factors other than the presence of AHI. For instance, one may lack sleep due to excitement, physical pain or psychological problems. Some of the participants might have snored of inappropriate sleeping posture and bronchial disorders among other causes. This might have compromised the accuracy of the research results. It is advisable that exercise should be used together with traditional OSA remedies like traditional interventions of CPAP and appropriate diet to reduce OSA severity. This applies because some patients like the physically handicapped, children and older adults may not be in a capacity to undertake recommended physical exercise. Secondly, different people respond differently to the body exercises, it would be better if other methods like CPAP is applied in case that of exercise fails to yield. We cannot rule out the importance of exercise on OSA reduction, however, it is important to appreciate the fact that the procedure implies dealing with human life which has got no second chance. The other alternatives would act as assurance should exercise fail to yield. Recommendations For improved outcome, the patients should be subjected to exercise dose. This is the use of human health knowledge to provide the best exercise strategies to reduce the AHI levels in the patients’ body system. It involves the patient undergoing appropriate body exercise depending on his/her body kilocalories (kcal). The patient may be subjected to control weekly or daily exercise, depending on the calories to be lost and reduce the AHI levels. The patients should also be advised on appropriate diet during the exercise sessions. Exercise dose may also involve the concerned professionals leasing with the patients’ doctors to attain the later medical records for appropriate exercise. It is important to understand the patients’ health conditions before deciding to exercise as a remedy for OSA, to limit further health complications. Summary and conclusions Exercise is proven to be a remedy for AHI levels in human body system; however, there are some limitations that might have compromised the results. Collecting data from the participants, both the patients and the control group could pose some difficulties. Indicators used to assess the levels of AHI in the body could result from other factors and compromise the study results. Due to the above limitations it is advisable to employ an exercise dose to OSA patients. This involves subjecting the patients to a medically controlled exercise. The patients are to undergo a weekly or daily exercise depending on his or her kilocalories. Reference Caldwell, P. (2003). Sleep apnea. New York: Firefly books press. Read More