TexasTerror
March 6th, 2007, 12:59 PM
Great idea for a study. Student-athletes have crazy hours between practice, academics and of course, those who have to take care of families and have jobs on the side.
My dad has sleep apnea related issues (sleeps with a machine to help his breathing -- and has gone several times to be retested to improve settings for his sleeping) and I'd be very interested to see the results of this study.
Most people don't even realize they have sleep apnea and this football player, mentioned in the article, that came forward to say his teammates made remarks about his sleeping was a good thing as now the issue has come to light that he does have issues related to sleep apnea.
Props to the researcher in San Marcos who is getting this rolling...
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Sleep Apnea and Bobcat Football
A researcher at Texas State University-San Marcos, alarmed by the high percentage of NFL players plagued by potentially fatal sleep disorders, has convinced his university to become the first collegiate program to test its football players for apnea – an effort to determine whether college athletes are at higher risk for future health problems, and even early death.
Prompted two years ago by the death of NFL great Reggie White, Dr. Gregg Marshall last spring began a testing regimen for Texas State’s football players, bringing the athletes into his sleep lab for an analysis to determine whether they suffer from the potentially fatal disorder known as sleep apnea.
“This is a non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical way to increase the performance of our players on the field, but more importantly, to increase the length of their lives,” says Marshall, associate professor of respiratory care at Texas State, and director of the university’s sleep lab.
This year’s round of screening is voluntary – and Marshall plans to publish his results as academic research – but this coming spring, the university would like to make screening for sleep disorders mandatory for football players, and eventually, all athletes.
http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=84301
My dad has sleep apnea related issues (sleeps with a machine to help his breathing -- and has gone several times to be retested to improve settings for his sleeping) and I'd be very interested to see the results of this study.
Most people don't even realize they have sleep apnea and this football player, mentioned in the article, that came forward to say his teammates made remarks about his sleeping was a good thing as now the issue has come to light that he does have issues related to sleep apnea.
Props to the researcher in San Marcos who is getting this rolling...
----------------
Sleep Apnea and Bobcat Football
A researcher at Texas State University-San Marcos, alarmed by the high percentage of NFL players plagued by potentially fatal sleep disorders, has convinced his university to become the first collegiate program to test its football players for apnea – an effort to determine whether college athletes are at higher risk for future health problems, and even early death.
Prompted two years ago by the death of NFL great Reggie White, Dr. Gregg Marshall last spring began a testing regimen for Texas State’s football players, bringing the athletes into his sleep lab for an analysis to determine whether they suffer from the potentially fatal disorder known as sleep apnea.
“This is a non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical way to increase the performance of our players on the field, but more importantly, to increase the length of their lives,” says Marshall, associate professor of respiratory care at Texas State, and director of the university’s sleep lab.
This year’s round of screening is voluntary – and Marshall plans to publish his results as academic research – but this coming spring, the university would like to make screening for sleep disorders mandatory for football players, and eventually, all athletes.
http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=84301