Not all sleep apnea cases adapt to nightly use of CPAP. Photo: Shutterstock. A new study has found that treating obstructive sleep apnea with CPAP therapy increases self-reported physical activity in adults with a history of heart disease. During a mean follow-up period of 3.7 years, the group treated with CPAP therapy reported approximately 20% higher levels of moderate physical activity compared with the control group. The study also found the CPAP group was more likely to report activity levels consistent with expert recommendations. “We were pleased to find that our CPAP users reported that they were better able to maintain their levels of activity over the four years of the study, and that they reported fewer limitations in moderate and vigorous activities including those that are important for independent ageing, like walking up the stairs,” says study co-author Kelly Loffler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology and is a research fellow at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders University.