CPAP therapy may increase energy

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Sleep apnea patients given continuous positive airway pressure therapy report less fatigue and increased energy, U.S. researchers say.

The researchers at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego, found therapeutic benefits beyond placebo effects with the airway pressure therapy.

The trial, published in the journal Sleep, indicated the therapy is especially beneficial for participants who were excessively fatigued or sleepy before treatment. Daytime sleepiness dropped on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale from 13.0 to 8.9 post treatment.

"This was one of the first double-blind studies of the effects of CPAP on fatigue," lead author Lianne Tomfohr, graduate research assistant in the joint doctoral program, said in a statement. "These results are important, as they highlight that patients who comply with CPAP therapy can find relief from fatigue and experience increases in energy and vigor after a relatively short treatment period."

Tomfohr and colleagues studied 59 adults with a mean age of 48 years randomly assigned to receive three weeks of either therapeutic CPAP or placebo.

Sleep apnea occurs when soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep -- blocking the upper airway -- often causing loud, frequent snoring as well as fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness.