It has been known since the beginning of human history the importance of a good night’s sleep to help the body in it’s physical, mental and social states. The benefits from good sleep are numerous and include boosting energy and alertness, enhancing memory and learning, facilitating muscle recovery, physical performance and balance, and much more.

For some, it is easier said than done, especially for heavy weight athletes. Excessive body weight, waist size greater than 40 inches, and a neck size greater than 17 inches, are risk factors to something called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). When you lay down to sleep, the heavier the neck soft tissue is, the easier it will collapse and close the airway, causing snoring or even preventing breathing for short periods and reducing the oxygen intake. The brain senses the reduced oxygen and wakes you up to move and open the airway to breathe. The result is a night of very poor sleep. Many with sleep apnea will notice unexplained daytime sleepiness and fatigue, attention deficit and trouble focusing, and mood changes to name a few. Which of course, in the end will affect your performance in sports.

Many of the serious professional heavy weight athletes have been taught how important a good night’s sleep is and the need to wear a sleep appliance each night to prevent these problems from occurring and help them be at the top of their game.

There are many dental devices available (MAD-mandibular advancement device) that advance the lower mandible and pull the tongue and soft tissue forward to open the airway while sleeping. The dreamTAP appliance is one of the most liked appliances in treating OSA due to the adjustability of the forward position to the most optimal and comfortable spot.