Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentistry

Sleep Apnea And Your Golf Game

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sleep Apnea and Your Golf Game

Those of us who are golfers, even the worst of us, know how difficult a game it is. To be good at golf requires lots of practice and patience. Hours on the driving range and the putting green must be put in to lower your scores.
Here’s an interesting tip on how to improve your game.
If you are a golfer who suffers with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a study performed by Marc Benton, MD, of Atlantic Sleep & Pulmonary Associates in Madison, N.J. and presented at the American College of Chest Physician, showed a decrease in golf scores when treatment was initiated.

Twelve golfers with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea participated in the study. These golfers who started nasal positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment saw a drop in their mean handicap from 12.4 to 11.0.
Compliance to use the CPAP is usually a big problem for patients with OSA. The preliminary results suggest that improving their golf game served as motivation for the patients to keep up their treatment, which is important given that compliance with using the CPAP is a significant problem in the management of the sleep disorder, and “compliance was off the charts” according to Benton. For those who cannot or will not tolerate the CPAP there is an alternative – oral appliance therapy is a safe, effective and approved method of treating obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea is a very serious condition with potential fatal consequences. This blog is not meant to make light of OSA, but to show that changes in your life style can have effects in unimagined ways. If you suspect that you may indeed be suffering with a sleep disturbance such as OSA, please call us at 561-394-9000 to arrange an appointment to begin the process of helping you to get a healthier nights sleep.

Kenneth A. Mogell, D.M.D.