WebMD Medical News Louise Chang, MD June 14, 2011 (Minneapolis)
-- Three new studies show that people who are more physically
active sleep longer and more deeply than those who are
sedentary. For adults with sleep apnea, a condition that
stresses the heart and repeatedly interrupts sleep when
breathing briefly slows or stops, an exercise program that
combined brisk walking and weight training cut the severity of
their disorder by 25% -- as much as some kinds of surgery. “The
most compelling point of the research was that this 25%
reduction was achieved without any reduction in body weight,”
says study researcher Christopher Kline, PhD, a postdoctoral
scholar in the department of psychiatry at the University of
Pittsburgh School of Sleep Medicine. Being overweight is a well-
known risk factor for sleep apnea, and previous studies have
shown that losing weight may improve the condition. “For a 25%
reduction due to weight loss, you actually need to lose about
10% of your body weight,” Kline says. For his study pa