Sleep apnea and static breath holds

There has been some discussion in db and other places on whether sleep apnea and static ability had a relation. I can’t remember any evidence or experience to suggest it did or didn’t.

Sleep apnea from what I have heard is a serious medical condition that needs addressing. Both my bosses had it. One was falling asleep all day until he was put on a nighttime ventilator (CPAP). He physically felt much better after that.

But then there is Hypoxic training by sleeping in low O2 regulated tents in an attempt to increase hemoglobin and O2 blood carrying ability. My guess is that there is something inherently wrong with sleep apnea that keeps it from being useful in the same way hypoxia training is. Maybe it’s the inconsistency of breathing and the tensing up you mentioned.

Whether the auto tensing up hurts a sleep apnea person in statics is a good question. Don’t know, but it is known that a low SaO2 percent for long periods is very bad for the body.

I do know a few people who tried to use their sleep apnea condition to help fund their purchase of a pulse/oximeter either through health insurance or medical tax deduction. But I don’t think they were very successful.
don

is it possible to die from sleep apnea?
I remember at least once when i was having a ream about freediving in some way or another, and i woke up and i was having contractions, felt like it was past 4 minutes of apnea for me. kinda scary

Yes! http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-23-2005/0003070576&EDATE=

crap.......................

Every night around 4am, I awake gasping for air and requiring around three very deep breaths to recover and settle back down. These three breaths are similar to the last three breaths prior to commencing a static. A few ordinary breaths later and I am falling back to sleep, only to repeat the cycle sometime later, when I again reawake, puffed out. I recognise the feeling similar to static around the first contraction stage and it doesnt worry me at all thanks to my freedive experience and training. My current heart condition is subdued by Sotolol and therefore I have an artificially low heart rate which is made slower by sleeping.

When I first got seriously ill, my resting rate went to 144bpm. They say max rates should be 220 minus your age, therefore I should not sustain 172 for any long period. My heart rhythm is also wrong and therefore inefficient at 'low revs'. This condition has been present for many years but gradually become apparent over the past few years and caused me some concern during my pre competition warm ups when I became aware that some times after 45 minutes preparing, I would commence the dynamic competition totally unready to compete. The question most repeated was how come my pb static was only 4:18 (safe) compared with my 139m dynamic, when freedivers with 6+ minutes statics still fail to make even 100-125m dynamics. The answer assumes that as my heart is 'wrong' , these failings effectively prove themselves at slow rates (much as a car that cannot tick over properly but purrs nicely when a little throttle is applied).

Well, I get my operation on Monday and the Doc says the fix (70% success rate) should be instant. The test will be whether I will then get better statics if my heart ticks properly for future comps. As long as I can get a medical signed off, I'll be back next summer.

Best of luck Haydn - hope all goes well on Monday.

Donna