Why can't I exercise with sleep apnea?

[Casper]

Dear everyone,

I am 45 years old, weigh 218 pounds (lost 15 pounds in the last few months), I'm 6'2, WFPB vegan and 100% on Saint John's and Saint Mary's maximum weight loss program eating delicious meals with 50% starch and 50% vegetables every day of the week.

I initially mistook my sleep apnea for a burnout (although definitely on the way), but I finally started with a CPAP treatment in June, 2019. I have recovered quite a bit, I have much more energy and there are even days that I start with dancing and singing which I haven't done for maybe 20 years!

So I'm certainly not complaining, there is however an issue with exercise that I can't figure out. I walk briskly every day for about 30 to 45 minutes. This works fine for me.

After a couple of months I was walking so fast that I thought: "Why not try slow jogging and build it up to running?". I have tried to start jogging/running again every 6 months in the last 5 years.

But every time this happens: the day that I run I feel great, also during the running. But the next 3 days I'm completely exhausted, sometimes even depressed, I have extreme cravings that only can be solved with unhealthy food (mostly vegan though) and it takes about a week before I'm feeling normal again.

There seems to be an upper level of intensity that I shouldn't cross and this doesn't seem to improve over the course of one year.

I've read somewhere that sleep apnea changes the structure of your muscles and everyone in the sleep apnea community will tell you right away that you shouldn't strain yourself too much.

But I would love to know what is really going on here and of course if I can improve this condition of exercise intolerence.

I have been studying this list (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_ ... nce#Causes) of causes for exercise intolerence. I'm not a doctor or scientist in this field so I'm just grasping at straws when I say that I don't recognize any of those causes. I feel fine, my blood pressure is 120/75 and once this whole corona situation clears up I'm going to check my blood markers.

Since my doctor has no idea what causes this and there is so little information to be found on the phase after being treated for sleep apnea, I was hoping someone here could shed a new light on this matter.

Thank you in advance for any feedback and ideas!
Casper

[Chumly]

Maybe you need to ramp up your exercise more slowly. If a brisk walk doesn't bother you, throw in 10 seconds of running. Then wait and see how you feel the next day. If you feel fine, incorporate two 10-second bursts of running in your routine.
I know what you mean about the high you get from high intensity exercise. I did this a lot when I was younger. Now I'm 49 and I've found consistent moderate exercise is much more sustainable, but less invigorating. I'm working on maintaining a steady routine of 30-60 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week and following the McDougall plan. I haven't been 100% successful at either but I'm more consistent than I've been in a while.

Michael

[Casper]

Thank you Michael, that is good idea!

I thought I was ramping it up because I was alternating running for a couple of minutes and then walking. But maybe I should switch to seconds as you suggest instead of minutes, so I'll try that once I feel up to it. I'm now afraid of triggering another week of dread...

Still, the mystery of why this happens remains. I don't feel like my physical fitness level is low since I can actually run for 30 minutes without a problem and feeling great.

I have learned that my body was an 'adrenaline junkie' during the nights when I didn't know I had sleep apnea due to the constant lack of air and the natureal survival/stress reaction to that. Then next I read that there is no scientific evidence of 'adrenal fatigue disease', so I have ruled that out.

It's really hard to try and 'study' this because I'm sceptical of any and all publications on the web.
Casper

[Casper]

I have resolved this issue!

It turns out I have Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder.

My natural time of falling a sleep is 3am, waking up at about 10am. If I ignore these times and try to live like the majority of people I am exhausted all day. This leads to a bunch of problems like gaining weight, being (super) grumpy, hungry, hangry , mega cravings and sometimes no hope for a normal future.

I can exercise again because I guess now I'm gettting the recovery during the night that my body needs. Previously I always went to bed early after exercising thinking that would benefit the recovery. Turns out that did just the opposite because I got up too early.

For anyone else who is having sleeping issues and wonder what's 'wrong' with them, now follows a short background story that might be helpful.

Starting a couple of years ago, chronologically:
1) I thought I had a burn-out because I was so tired all the time and was working too much, but I was actually overworked which is much less severe
2) The first time I ignored my GP's advice to see if there was something wrong with my sleep (a big regret because she was right!)
3) Finally, a year later, I did an at home sleep study and it turned out that I have sleep apnea (AHI = 16)
4) I started with a CPAP which I have been big friends with since night one, she has brought me more energy. However, I was still very tired on many days.
5) I have kept a diary with everything that I felt, did and ate and suddenly a pattern emerged: I noticed that I was 'unusually' fit and energic on alternating days and that I only needed 6 (!) hours of sleep on the nights before but always fell asleep very late at 3pm.
6) Then I came across DSPS documentation, completely ignored the idea that I needed to go to bed at 10pm - 11pm and suddenly I had the most wonderful week ever with lots and lots of energy.

The Wiki article states: "Practitioners of sleep medicine point out the dismally low rate of accurate diagnosis of the disorder, and have often asked for better physician education on sleep disorders."

It was a real puzzle to figure out the multiple issues that were combined: being overworked, sleep apnea and DSPS. But because I sometimes had an energetic day I had faith that there would be a solution.

The most difficult part was ignoring the advice of about 8 doctors and specialists!

Losing weight on Dr. McDougall's maximum weight loss plan is now a breeze! After tackling sleep apnea and the cripling exhaustion caused by the DSPS it's so easy, as I always thought it should be.

Feel free to ask me anything regarding this issue. Although I'm just one case (n=1) I guess I have a lot of experience with many related symptoms and I might be able to help you figure out your sleep issue.

Sweet dreams!