• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Sleep apnea

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Alison

Offline
Mar 6, 2004
1,898
204
0
Does anyone else suffer from sleep apnea? I will stop breathing for over a minute whilst asleep apparently , just curious to know if anyone else does :)
 
A friend of mine suffers it. He has a special machine to prevent it that cost a few thousand dollars.
 
Only when I'm dreaming of diving!! ;) I've woken up while dreaming of being under water, and when I awoke I was still holding my breath with the contractions comming almost continuiously.

Different kind of sleep apnea though I think...
Aaron
 
Yes, I have sleep apnea. It sucks and it means I need to sleep extra long each night. I wasn't sure I had it until I connected my oximeter to myself while I slept. I set the alarm for 80% and it would wake me up repeatedly!


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alison
Maybe this thread should have a poll ... (have sleep apnea? yes/no)

I also have sleep apnea. I asked Martin Stepanek once and he said he has it too.

Interesting.

Peter S.
 
I dont know how to add a poll :( sorry.
Thats interesting that some of what I would call better freedivers have sleep apnea, did you always find holding your breath easier than most (or seemed to have a natural ability)?
 
Here is another question... if you do suffer from sleep apnea, has it set in since you have become interested in free diving,(what tense was that in?) or was it prevalent even before you started free diving?

There are two types of sleep apnea. Central and Obstructive. Central sleep apnea is caused when the brain fails to signal the body to breathe, whereas obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a the collapse of the tissue in the back of the throat. Might intense apnea training have something to do with the possible proliferation of sleep apnea sufferers in freediving?
I don't mean to be an alarmist or anything. But I wouldn't be that surprised if intensive apnea training were to trigger mild cases of central sleep apnea.

The American Sleep Apnea Association puts the number of Apnea suffers at 12 Million. One site I read suggested that one in fifteen adults have moderate sleep apnea, however one in five may have mild, generally unnoticeable apnea. Another site suggested One in Ten men and One in Twenty-Five women.

It would be interesting to see if the numbers are generally higher among free-divers. I, personally, do not suffer from either form of sleep apnea.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Alison
I cant answer that Im afraid, although I vaguely remember my mother telling me that I used to stop breathing as a child (but Im talking something she said 35 years ago) but Ive always found holding my breath relatively easy.
 
Originally posted by Alison Jameson
Does anyone else suffer from sleep apnea? I will stop breathing for over a minute whilst asleep apparently , just curious to know if anyone else does :)


Usually assosciated with morbid obesity.....you're not overweight, are you?;)
 
Re: Re: Sleep apnea

Originally posted by Mlungu
Usually assosciated with morbid obesity.....you're not overweight, are you?;)

An ancient Arabic curse!
May your crotch be infested with lice and may your arms be to short to sctatch!
And may that be a lesson to you ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: jensen
Re: Re: Re: Sleep apnea

Originally posted by Alison Jameson
An ancient Arabic curse!
May your crotch be infested with lice and may your arms be to short to sctatch!
And may that be a lesson to you ;)

rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl
 
Re: Re: Sleep apnea

Originally posted by Mlungu
Usually assosciated with morbid obesity.....you're not overweight, are you?;)

I think being overweight is more associated with the obstructive form of apnea. "Risk factors include a family history of sleep apnea, a large neck, a recessed chin, male sex, abnormalities in the structure of the upper airway, smoking, alcohol use, and age, as well as excess weight."

http://www.sleepapnea.org/bmi.html
 
Originally posted by flyboy748
Only when I'm dreaming of diving!! ;) I've woken up while dreaming of being under water, and when I awoke I was still holding my breath with the contractions comming almost continuiously.

Different kind of sleep apnea though I think...
Aaron

I've done that too! I didn't wake up though, just remembered it in the morning. Interesting question: if someone dreams about holding their breath, does he/she actually do it?

Lucia
 
I regularly dream I am freediving and wake up holding my breath and desperate for air. Sometimes I kick out hard in my sleep as I try to get to the "surface"

Never Sleep Alone!

Sam
 
Yep,
I have had that too !
Dreaming about freediving and wake up needing to breathe big time sometimes having contractions. Even had it a couple of times just half asleep and thinking about diving, I end up holding my breath.
I haven't had it lately (that I remember). I used to get if I have been diving or training a lot. I don't ever remember having it before I started freediving.

Reading about other freedivers getting it doesn't surprise me. Much of what we do in freediving becomes a programmed response ie stored into an unconscious part of the brain like the Cerebellum. ( This is where complex motor skills are stored like walking, riding a bike, swimming, sports skills etc)
So for some people this programmed response becomes so strong that sometimes even an image of being underwater ie during a dream is enough to make them stop breathing. I guess it's not really that strange if you consider some people are actually able to walk around whilst asleep. :duh



Cheers,
Wal
 
Originally posted by Walrus
...So for some people this programmed response becomes so strong that sometimes even an image of being underwater ie during a dream is enough to make them stop breathing. I guess it's not really that strange if you consider some people are actually able to walk around whilst asleep. :duh
Hmm, so if you'll dream you're on the surface, any chance you'll start packing? :D
 
Originally posted by DeepThought
Hmm, so if you'll dream you're on the surface, any chance you'll start packing? :D
That would look so cute...imagine someone packing in their sleep...
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT