Know the Role of Your Diaphragm in Sleep Apnea

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Know the Role of Your Diaphragm in Sleep Apnea

Nov 15, 2023, By Shilpa Unnikrishnan

Did you know that about 30 million people in the U.S. have sleep apnea, yet only 6 million people have been diagnosed with this sleep-related condition? Learn about sleep apnea, its signs and symptoms and how mastering the art of optimal breathing helps sleep apnea.

Did you know that about 30 million people in the U.S. have sleep apnea, yet only 6 million people have been diagnosed with this sleep-related condition?

Surprisingly, even amidst the COVID pandemic, the situation hasn't improved, as countless individuals have been grappling with compromised sleep due to disruptions in their daily routines, work schedules, and heightened levels of stress.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a breathing-associated sleep disorder caused by frequent interruptions of regular breathing. These troublesome phases last for 10 seconds or longer and happen frequently (approximately 20–30 times per hour) during the night.

The word “apnea,'' which is derived from the Greek language, literally means “without breath.” Individuals encountering sleep apnea will be awakened repeatedly as they struggle to breathe.

In almost all instances, they will be unaware of these sleep disruptions as they don’t experience full awakening. Ignorance of these apneic conditions causes recurrent breathing interruptions, loud snoring, and daytime sleepiness, even when it appears they have had an entire night’s sleep.

Studies have shown that these effects eventually lead to several health issues, including hypertension, stroke, heart failure, Type II diabetes, arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, depression, cardiac arrest, and respiratory failure.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most common sleep-apnea condition, is estimated to impact approximately one billion adults worldwide and affects 2–9% of adults in the United States.

However, experts believe that the actual prevalence of OSA may be considerably higher, as many cases go undiagnosed.

OSA exists as recurrent breathing lapses due to physical blockages (either complete or partial) of the upper airway. In the due course of an apneic phase, the diaphragm and chest muscles strive as the pressure intensifies to open the restricted airway.

Generally, breathing is restarted with a noisy gasp and physical twitch. Such episodes can impede restful sleep, reduce blood-oxygen circulation to key organs, and lead to arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).

Do I have OSA? Here Are the Signs and Symptoms

Are you feeling excessively tired during the daytime? Do you frequently wake up in the morning with a headache or dry throat? Then it’s possible you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Most individuals with OSA often experience excessive daytime sleepiness and loud snoring at night. However, there are cases where individuals with OSA do not exhibit noticeable symptoms, or they might mistakenly attribute these symptoms to another cause. Symptoms of OSA can manifest both during the nighttime and throughout the day.

Here are some of the nocturnal symptoms of OSA:

Frequent loud snoring
Restless sleep
Mouth breathing
Nocturia (frequent nighttime urge to urinate)

Here are some of the daytime symptoms of OSA

Waking up feeling tired
Morning headache
Dry/sore throat
Excessive daytime sleepiness
Daytime fatigue
Cognitive function impairment
Sexual dysfunction
Disruptive snoring during naps

Risk Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The primary risk factors for OSA are:

Age: The risk for the incidence of OSA increases with age.
Sex: OSA prevalence is higher in men
Body Mass Index: Higher BMI (overweight) may contribute to an increased risk of developing OSA.
Specific anatomical features: shorter lower jaw, large tonsils, neck size greater than 17 inches, excess fat around the throat
Smoking
Family history
Nasal congestion

Are You Breathing in an Optimal Way?

Before getting started, let’s have a glance at what an optimal breath looks like:

From the image, you can see the pear, cone, and diaphragm (represented by the red line) in action.

During the breathing cycle, the rib cage and diaphragm work in tandem to facilitate the exchange of air. On the inhale, the diaphragm contracts, flattens, and moves downward, and the rib cage expands.

When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its high dome shape, pushing air out of the lungs while simultaneously massaging the heart. In addition, the collapsing of the rib cage also contributes to the expulsion of air during exhalation.

This is also the key to the often-called "Relaxation Response”, without which will forever elude one's ability to deeply relax and stay calm.

Can Diaphragmatic Breathing Help Sleep-Apnea Symptoms?

A 2003 study has shown that diaphragmatic breathing and nasal breathing help relieve sleep apnea symptoms. Another study has explained that the progressive weakening of the diaphragm can be a huge factor in sleep apnea.

In a 2022 review, it was noted that diaphragmatic breathing may have potential benefits, such as improving diaphragm-muscle strength, breathing coordination, relaxation, and lung capacity, which could potentially contribute to reducing sleep apnea events.

Let’s have a look at how diaphragmatic breathing can potentially help relieve sleep apnea symptoms:

Increasing Muscle Strength: Regular practice of diaphragmatic breathing can help strengthen the diaphragm muscle, leading to improved respiratory muscle strength and function. A stronger diaphragm is more effective at maintaining proper airflow during sleep, which can help reduce the occurrence of sleep-apnea events.
Improving Breathing-Muscle Coordination: Diaphragmatic breathing involves coordinated movement of the diaphragm with other muscles involved in breathing. This coordinated movement can help improve the overall efficiency of breathing, reducing the work of breathing and potentially reducing the development of sleep-apnea episodes.
Relaxation and Stress Reduction: Diaphragmatic breathing activates the body’s relaxation response and reduces stress. Stress and tension can contribute to sleep apnea by increasing muscle tension and promoting shallow breathing. By practicing optimal, diaphragmatic breathing, which promotes relaxation, individuals with sleep apnea may experience reduced muscle tension and more efficient breathing during sleep.
Improving Lung Capacity: Diaphragmatic breathing involves taking deep breaths that fully expand the lungs, which can help increase lung capacity. With increased lung capacity, individuals will be able to take in more air with each breath, reducing the work of breathing during sleep and potentially alleviating sleep apnea.

Learning to breathe the right way and incorporating Breathing Exercises into your daily routine can positively impact your sleep quality.

The Optimal Sleep Program included in the Optimal Breathing Kit may help you unlearn and relearn the way you breathe to sleep better and wake up rested.

Don't let poor sleep ruin your life!

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