Full face masks are 80% more effective than nasal masks. Most people sleep with their mouth open. If you are wearing a nasal mask and sleep with your mouth open, you are losing precious therapy out of your mouth. This makes CPAP less effective. However, when wearing a full face mask you retain the maximum therapy possible. Thus, CPAP is significantly more effective.
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during the night. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night's sleep, you might have sleep apnea. Three types of sleep apnea.
- Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common apnea, occurs when throat muscles relax
- Central sleep apnea, which occurs when your brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome, which is combination of obstructive and Central apnea.
Sleep apnea is linked to other serious health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, strokes and more.
Cheese, yogurt, milk, and dairy products contain calcium which helps the brain use the tryptophan (also found in dairy) to manufacture the sleep hormone melatonin. You can speed up your bedtime by having a salad with dinner as lettuce contains lactucarium, which is known for its sedative properties.
Side sleeping is the preferred position for helping calm your sleep apnea. Sleeping on your right side reduces snoring and encourages blood flow.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Doctors commonly recommend people with sleep apnea to lose weight...
- Try yoga. Regular exercise can increase your energy level, strengthen your heart, and improve sleep apnea...
- Alter your sleep position...
- Use a humidifier...
- Avoid alcohol and smoking...
- Use oral appliances. (ORAL APPLIANCES DO NOT IMPROVE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE).
Quick power naps will cause disruptive, harmful apneas if you're not using CPAP. Naps make it harder to embrace CPAP. For CPAP beginners especially, it's important to avoid naps because they reduce your sleep debt.
Severe obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI (Average Hypopnea Index) is greater than 30 (more than 30 episodes per hour) Moderate obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 15 and 30. Mild obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 5 and 15.
CPAP and oral appliances work well, but they're not cures for sleep apnea. The only sure way to rid yourself of the condition for good is to either lose weight or have surgery to remove excess tissue from the palate or throat. Surgery can have side effects, which is why it's usually viewed as a last resort, plus it is very expensive therefore, your insurance might deny your claim.
Weight loss of just 10-15% can reduce the severity of OSA by 50% in moderately obese patients. Unfortunately, while weight loss can provide meaningful improvements in OSA, it usually does not lead to a complete cure, and many sleep apnea patients need additional therapies.
Most but not all people with obstructive sleep apnea are overweight. Fat deposits around the upper airway can obstruct breathing. Medical conditions that are associated with obesity, such as hypothyroidism (abnormally low activity of the thyroid gland) and polycystic ovary (multiple cysts) syndrome, also can cause obstructive sleep apnea.
- You might have difficulty concentrating and find yourself falling asleep at work, while watching TV, or even when driving. People with sleep apnea have an increased risk of motor vehicle and workplace accidents.
- Daytime fatigue. The repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make normal, restorative sleep impossible, causing severe daytime drowsiness, fatigue, and irritability.
- Feel quick-tempered, moody, or depressed. Children and adolescents with sleep apnea might perform poorly in school or have behavior problems.
- Having obstructive sleep apnea increases your risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). Sudden drops in blood oxygen levels during sleep increase blood pressure and strain the cardiovascular system.
- Obstructive sleep apnea might also increase your risk of recurrent heart attack, stroke and abnormal heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation.
- If you have heart disease, multiple episodes of low blood oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) can lead to sudden death from an irregular heartbeat.
- Type 2 diabetes. Having sleep apnea increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
- Metabolic syndrome. This disorder, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar and an increased waist circumference, is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
- Before you have surgery, tell your doctor about your sleep apnea and how it's being treated.
- Liver problems. People with sleep apnea are more likely to have abnormal results on liver function tests, and their livers are more likely to show signs of scarring (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).
Insurance Cards, Drivers License, any current equipment that you are using (masks, machines).
You need to have a formal sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea. Your doctor will sign a prescription to get you a CPAP machine.
There are several causes of dry mouth such as blood pressure medication, diets that are high in garlic and onions, taking antibiotics, and problems with your teeth. Turning on your humidifier and adding water can greatly reduce dry mouth.