is 60 Mins with no CPAP Enough To Counteract 4 Hrs W/ CPAP?

[Somnolence]

I don't think anyone here can provide you a good answer. Personally, I wake with a vicious headache when attempting to sleep without CPAP.

[chunkyfrog]

On those occasions that I foolishly doze off with a naked face, hubby wakes me so I can mask up.
I generally feel horrible, so I eagerly put on my gear. I'm much better by morning.
What a sweetie pie!

[zoocrewphoto]

I don't think it counteracts the good. I think it is simply a matter of how long did you go with apnea events, and how bad were the events? If it was a bad hour, then it can really mess you up.

About the end of the night issue, I think it is because people tend to be worse in REM sleep, and we tend to have more REM sleep at the end of the sleep cycle. I know I have found that if I miss the first couple hours because I fell asleep while watching tv, I don't feel as bad as if I miss the last hour.

Even before cpap treatment, I have found that interruptions during the last hour are the worst. I would much rather have a phone call or big interruption during the first few hours than during my last hour.

[DavidCarolina]

Overwhelmingly my highest event period is the last of the night.

The first 90 minutes of sleep is always almost event free.

So if you'd said the first hour was no mask, and the last 4 was mask, i might say that theres
a chance you wouldnt be doing significant damage.

[PST]

I'm no doctor, but it seems to me that the ill effects of obstructive sleep apnea fall into to categories: frequent interruption of sleep and episodes of low blood oxygen saturation. The interruptions deprive us of the restorative effects of sleep, including REM sleep, and leave us lethargic and dozing off all day. The plunging oxygen saturation causes blood vessels in the lungs to constrict, leading to high right-side blood pressure and heart damage, and in a damaged heart it can trigger serious arrhythmias. I would expect the answer to the question to be split. An hour with no CPAP can't undo the beneficial effects of four hours of normal, uninterrupted sleep, but the four good hours can't undo the harmful effects of plunges in blood oxygenation. I have no idea how those things balance out.