Exercise during Short-Term and Long-Term Continuous Exposure to Hypoxia Exacerbates Sleep-Related Periodic Breathing.

Helio Fernandez Tellez, Shawnda A Morrison, Xavier Neyt, Olivier Mairesse, Maria Francesca Piacentini, Eoin Macdonald-Nethercott, Andrej Pangerc, Leja Dolenc-Groselj, Ola Eiken, Nathalie Pattyn, Igor B Mekjavic, Romain Meeusen

Journal: Sleep 2016;39(4):773-83

PMID: 26951389

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Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Exposure to hypoxia elevates chemosensitivity, which can lead to periodic breathing. Exercise impacts gas exchange, altering chemosensitivity; however, interactions between sleep, exercise and chronic hypoxic exposure have not been examined. This study investigated whether exercise exacerbates sleep-related periodic breathing in hypoxia.

METHODS

Two experimental phases. Short-Term Phase: a laboratory controlled, group-design study in which 16 active, healthy men (age: 25 ± 3 y, height: 1.79 ± 0.06 m, mass: 74 ± 8 kg) were confined to a normobaric hypoxic environment (FIO2 = 0.139 ± 0.003, 4,000 m) for 10 days, after random assignment to a sedentary (control, CON) or cycle-exercise group (EX). Long-Term Phase: conducted at the Concordia Antarctic Research Station (3,800 m equivalent at the Equator) where 14 men (age: 36 ± 9 y, height: 1.77 ± 0.09 m, mass: 75 ± 10 kg) lived for 12-14 months, continuously confined. Participants were stratified post hoc based on self-reported physical activity levels. We quantified apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and physical activity variables.

RESULTS

Short-Term Phase: mean AHI scores were significantly elevated in the EX group compared to CON (Night1 = CON: 39 ± 51, EX: 91 ± 59; Night10 = CON: 32 ± 32, EX: 92 ± 48; P = 0.046). Long-Term Phase: AHI was correlated to mean exercise time (R(2) = 0.4857; P = 0.008) and the coefficient of variation in night oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2; R(2) = 0.3062; P = 0.049).

CONCLUSIONS

Data indicate that exercise (physical activity) per se affects night SpO2 concentrations and AHI after a minimum of two bouts of moderate-intensity hypoxic exercise, while habitual physical activity in hypobaric hypoxic confinement affects breathing during sleep, up to 13+ months' duration.

Address: Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Human Physiology & Sports Medicine Department, Brussels, Belgium.; Royal Military Academy of Brussels, VIPER Research Unit, Brussels, Belgium.; Department of Automation, Biocybernetics, and Robotics, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.; Institute of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Clinical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.; Royal Military Academy of Brussels, VIPER Research Unit, Brussels, Belgium.; Royal Military Academy Brussels, CISS, Brussels, Belgium.; Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Human Physiology & Sports Medicine Department, Brussels, Belgium.; Sleep Laboratory & Unit for Chronobiology-Brugmann University Hospital Free University of Brussels (U.L.B./V.U.B), Brussels, Belgium.; Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Human Physiology & Sports Medicine Department, Brussels, Belgium.; Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.; JF Intensive Care Unit, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.; Institut polaire français Paul-Emile Victor, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France.; Institute of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Clinical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.; Department of Environmental Physiology, Swedish Aerospace Physiology Centre, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.; Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Human Physiology & Sports Medicine Department, Brussels, Belgium.; Royal Military Academy of Brussels, VIPER Research Unit, Brussels, Belgium.; Experimental and Applied Psychology Department, Brussels, Belgium.; Department of Automation, Biocybernetics, and Robotics, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.; Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Human Physiology & Sports Medicine Department, Brussels, Belgium.; School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Health Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville City, Queensland, Australia.

DOI: 10.5665/sleep.5626

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MeSH Terms: Adult, Altitude, Bicycling, Breath Holding, Exercise, Humans, Hypoxia, Male, Oxygen, Sedentary Behavior, Self Report, Sleep, Time Factors