Adjustable bed and Apnea experiment

Ok, so there have been allot of people asking if adjustable beds help with apneas.. I have had 1 for about 2 years and decided to do an experiment to see if it really does help..

Some background:

About 2 years ago I figured out I slept very well in my reclining chair and not in my flat bed.. My bed was comfortable but I knew I was having apneas. I had no way of knowing what was happening as I was not using my S8 BIPAP and even if I was, I had no way of getting any data off of it..

So I slept for about 2 months on my recliner saving for an adjustable bed.. It is a basic adjustable bed with a seally memory foam mattress. Since I got the bed I raised the head about 12 inches, I tried to get the same angle as my recliner and just left it there and went with it.. It has helped me and I really didn't think about how much it was helping until I saw posts asking about these type of beds..

SO, I decided I would test it for a week starting last Sunday and going to Friday night. I dropped the head of the bed down about 6 inches, not flat but close to it.. I usually sleep on my right side about 3/4 of the night and then end up on my back for the rest of the night.. The first thing I noticed, it was much more comfortable sleeping on my side, I was not bent at my hips as much.. That was the only good thing that happened for me.. My apneas went up like crazzy as you will see below, it was the worst on my back as we all know and I had my first flagged obstructive apnea since I received my data machine. On Thursday night I raised my pressure support to min 2 to try and stop some of my apneas from happening, it did help a little but nothing that I was hoping for.. On Friday I raised my bed back to where I had it and my AHI went back down to where I was before.

I know this bed helps me and wanted to share my results..

Sat
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.26 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
Sun
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.37 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
Mon
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.40 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
Tue
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.45 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
wed
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.49 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
Thur
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.52 by cowboycasey, on Flickr
Fri
Screenshot 2014-07-26 06.46.56 by cowboycasey, on Flickr

Very interesting. I would be interested in what would happen if you raised your head 6 more inches up.

I have thought that orientation of the air passageways versus the direction of gravity might have an impact on apneas.

I have thought the same thing, the problem is that you have to stay on your back the higher you go... Its comfortable for a little while but I really could not sleep well with it higher.. Some people may be able to though...