Exercise & Apnea: Blessing or Curse?

Much less obvious to someone who doesn't suffer from this condition is the situation that the chronically sleepy person lives with constantly, of having fallen far behind in the most elementary of obligations and essential tasks, like paying the bills, returning phone calls, keeping records in order. When a person has the rare opportunity of enough alertness and energy to do something, should a walk take precedence over paying overdue bills? Over returning a call to someone important? Over talking to the family who live almost excluded from the sufferer's existence?

Lest the arrogant presume otherwise, let me state clearly: the answers to these questions are not obvious. I have faced them, and I found myself uncertain what best to do with precious moments of mental clarity and physical energy that interrupt too seldom the constant pall of life under semicomatose conditions!

Let me take a daring step further in self-disclosure. Shortly after being first diagnosed with sleep apnea and treated with CPAP, I proceeded with enthusiasm and determination to follow a strict diet and exercise program. This led me to lose almost 40 pounds, to the point of being not at all overweight, and even to finishing marathons.

I had every expectation that these heroic measures, combined with my religious use of CPAP, would resolve all problems with excessive daytime sleepiness.

However, I noticed from the very beginning that my jogging, whether short and slow or long and slow, usually left me in need of going back to bed to sleep! For this reason, I could hardly take my exercise in the morning or at lunch hour, like others might, but had to squeeze it in after work. This meant that, although I could expect to revive later in the evening, my ability to use the evening for activities like classes and meetings suffered. Furthermore, as fall continued into winter, as the daylight shortened and the temperature dropped, it became ever more unpleasant to go out jogging in the cold and dark.

For those who have never investigated the matter, there are indoor facilities available for people who like to take their exercise in the form of walking or jogging--but places with indoor tracks are rare, and often expensive. Fortunately, I found two within driving distance, and had the financial resources to access them both. In other words, I managed to keep up my program of exercise right through two winters.

Imagine my dismay when I came