Sleep is essential for a person’s overall health, including lowering risk to chronic health conditions later in life.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic lung disease affecting both men and women globally. The condition is caused by abnormalities in the small airways of the lungs leading to a reduced airflow.
COPD is known to drastically affect a person’s sleep and with a new report revealing that a person getting less than five hours of sleep a night can lead to a number of chronic health problems, finding ways to overcome this is pertinent.
How can you improve your sleep whether suffering with COPD?
Less than five hours sleep increases serious health risks
In a recent study by PLoS Medicine, UK civil servants’ health were tracked do determine how many hours of sleep they were averaging.
Around 8,000 participants were involved in the research with health conditions noted including diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
The research revealed that those who slept five hours or less had a 30% greater risk of multiple ailments compared to those who slept the recommended seven hours.
It concluded that shorter sleep for those aged 50 was associated with earlier death, mainly due to a higher risk for chronic diseases.
With this shocking discovery in mind, those suffering with COPD could therefore be deemed to be at higher risk of earlier death due to their inability to sleep a full night.
What are the symptoms of COPD?
For those concerned they may be suffering with COPD, symptoms of the condition include breathlessness, a persistent chesty cough with phlegm not going away or suffering with frequent chest infections.
Equally concerning is that many people who have COPD are also most likely to be suffering with sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea is a medical condition in which a person’s airways close of stopping them to breath properly or multiple times throughout the night as normal.
As with COPD, sleep apnoea negatively affects a person’s sleep.
Unfortunately, COPD is often a viscous cycle as the sufferer will most likely not be getting a good night’s rest most nights further exacerbating the condition and increasing other serious health risks.
Previous research has found that poor sleep worsens symptoms of COPD, according to the American Thoracic Society.
How to sleep better with COPD
According to Dr MeiLan K. Han, professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary and critical care, sleeping in a slightly upright position can greatly help when it comes to sleep as it helps to relieve some stress off the lungs.
By slightly elevating your head when you sleep it can not only help with COPD but also to prevent acid reflux.
This theory was further bolstered by a review published in the journal Chest finding simple behavioural changes such as proper positioning helping to take pressure off the oesophagus improving night time GERD symptoms with an improved sleep quality being the end result.
Tips for better sleep
Other tips for improved sleep include:
- Avoid napping in the daytime
- Lower your blue light from electronic devices viewing before sleep
- Exercise in the day
- Form a consistent sleep routine
- Try calming practices such as mindfulness or yoga
- Try oxygen therapy
- Review your medications
- Speak to your GP about getting tested for sleep apnoea
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