NFL Players Suffer From Sleep Disorders

Jan. 23 -- A new medical study finds that up to one-third of NFL players have sleep apnea, a disorder that creates serious health risks and increases the chance that players will not get a good night's sleep before they hit the gridiron.

Fifty-two professional football players from eight randomly selected NFL teams were tested for the obstructive sleep apnea study, cited in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious type of sleep disorder in which sufferers stop breathing involuntarily as many as 20 to 30 times per hour during sleep, and are at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

As many as 18 million Americans are believed to suffer from sleep apnea, according to the National Institutes of Health. Because their sleep is constantly interrupted, those with sleep apnea do not get a full night of deep, restful sleep.

The presence of sleep apnea among the pro football group was 14 percent overall, nearly five times higher than noted in previous studies of similarly aged adults. It was even more common for higher risk players — 34 percent of linebackers, defensive players responsible for stopping rushers and pass receivers, suffered from it.

Always Tired in the Morning

Nate Hobgood-Chittick, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, wasn't part of the study, but he discovered he had sleep apnea back in 1998 as a rookie with the New York Giants.

"I had always been tired when I would wake up in the morning and at different times throughout the day, but mostly in the mornings," Hobgood-Chittick said. As he began to gain weight for football purposes, his snoring increased.

"It got to a point where it was really bad," he said. "My wife complained about it, and often slept somewhere else."

Then he overheard someone in the locker room one day talking about sleep apnea and thought he might have it, too. Sure enough, he was evaluated by doctors and diagnosed with it.

The preliminary research suggests that the condition could slow a player's reaction time by 11 percent, said Dr. Charles George of the University of Western Ontario, who led the study. Researchers are planning further tests to see if treating the sleep disorder can improve a player's performance. One way to treat it is by sleeping with a CPAP machine equipped with a face mask that forces extra air into the lungs and keeps the airways open.