Struggling with weight loss can be frustrating, but it is miserable when youre also tired all the time. For people with apnea, there is a scientific connection between weight gain and sleep loss.

Yes, sleep is necessary for not only mental focus and physical stamina but is essential to regulate your weight!

If you find it practically impossible to stop gaining weight then you might have a hidden sleep problem, such as apnea that is harming your body’s hormone levels and causing your weight gain.

Sleep apnea related weight gain is all too common. It is estimated that 80 million Americans live with undiagnosed sleep apnea today.

Trying to lose weight without treating your apnea is a losing battle. Your body needs deep sleep night after night to regulate healthy functions, maintain your metabolism and to lose weight.

If you have apnea and are not regularly using CPAP, then you are almost certainly going to gain weight.

Here’s some things to understand about the connection between apnea and weight gain:

1. When your body feels tired it automatically craves fuel in the form of sugar, carbohydrates and other foods with a high glycemic index. In a study published by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, people with the most severe cases of sleep disorders also had the highest intake of calories, protein, cholesterol and saturated fat.

2. In a report from the Quebec Family Study, people who regularly only get five to six hours of sleep per night are 35% more likely to gain up to 11-pounds of fat over six years compared to a person who sleeps between seven to eight hours per night.

3. It turns out that the best appetite suppressant is a good night’s sleep. Poor quality sleep causes levels of the hormone ghrelin to severely increase in your gastrointestinal tract. This hormone is in charge of making you feel hungry. You increase your levels of ghrelin every time you get a bad night’s sleep.

Clinical research from the Mayo Clinic shows that sleep apnea increases your risk of sudden death by heart attack. While apnea has always been serious, this new research emphasizes how important it is to treat apnea.

In a study of about 11,000 adults, researchers found that sleep apnea was the second biggest risk factors for sudden death among heart disease patients. (The second trait was an age of 60 years or older.)

Sleep apnea, a relatively common condition, causes the oxygen levels in the blood to decrease. This, in turn, puts a strain on the heart while it tries to pump adequate amounts of oxygen to the brain and body.

Due to the dangerously decreased oxygen levels, the blood vessels alter in a way that may lead to heart disease in the patient. Sleep apnea is being considered a risk factor that ranks with smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

There is a common thread. If you dont get oxygen to the blood, the whole body and brain start to shut down. But with apnea, your throat closes down, suffocating yourself and starving your body of oxygen.

All the more reason to get the most widely prescribed form of sleep apnea treatment: CPAP (continuous positive air pressure). CPAP therapy not only can save your life ” it can eliminate daytime drowsiness, alleviate depression, even help you lose weight.

Medical research points to how important it is to regularly use CPAP therapy. However, for many patients the nightly use of a CPAP mask connected to a CPAP machine is not an easy habit to make. That is why the national compliance average is only 50%.

Luckily there are three time-proven strategies to increasing your CPAP compliance and therefore your chances of improved health and long life:

1. For best results, only use doctor recommended, quality CPAP equipment. Doctors recommend three manufacturers: ResMed, Fisher & Paykel, and Respironics. These brands are known to invest millions in R&D every year to ensure health and safety for the customer. There are risks associated with the lower quality manufacturers, in particular the ones from China. Before you waste your money or risk your life, ask your doctor about any brand other than the above three.

2. Choose wisely when selecting a CPAP supplier. Avoid the dubious websites that sell grey-market CPAP equipment. You might end-up with a refurbished CPAP machine that just looks like new, but doesnt have warranty coverage or isnt even sterilized. (Many used machines on the grey market are from patients in nursing homes who have passed away, possibly from pneumonia or other respiratory diseases.) Be safe and smart: use a CPAP supplier that is certified by the National Apnea Association and/or is a ResMed Preferred Internet Provider.

3. Get help! A certified CPAP coach will help you with any problems that arise with your CPAP equipment. Your coach will save you time and keep you on track by helping you with using, cleaning, and maintaining your CPAP. Many studies have shown that CPAP chronic care or coaching increases patients probability of success from the national average of only 50% to over 90%. Best of all, some CPAP websites offer coaching for free to their customers.