Sleeping in the heat, suggestions?

[joeyv20]

We have central air conditioning but I did not grow up with air conditioning and I prefer to not use it until it is really stinkin' hot out. I like to work outside and spend time outdoors and having the house cooled like a fridge does not encourage going outdoors into the hot weather (actually we do not cool it that cold mostly about 80 degrees sometimes I have been known to set it to 79!). That said, pre cpap, I could sleep pretty well when it was warm. Now that I have cpap we have been running the air conditioner at what seems like ridiculous temeratures. We have run it so that I can sleep with the machine. Having the machine on my face when it is hot out has proven to not work. At the same time I am having difficulties with my cpap machine and I am consulting with a sleep doc. It feels too hot once I get the machine on at night, if I turn the air conditioner on then, It takes hours to bring the house temperature down and for the humidity level to get better.

Here I sit, posting to this forum at midnight because it's too uncomfortable to sleep. I went to bed late last night, it was a bit cooler then, but when I woke up this morning with the headgear was next to me and the machine was turned off. I have no memory of taking it off or turning it off. That has never happened before. I suspect it is because I am having trouble with the therapy in general and have not been sleeping well anyhow. I do need to get my machine checked out, not sure where or when I will get that done. Probably next week. In the meantime, I was hoping someone here had some wisdom to share about sleeping more comfortably when it is warm. I cannot imagine camping and I know folks here have chatted about camping. There must be some tricks to it.

Joey

[kavanaugh1950]

Hi Joey, I am someone who hates the summer heat and humidity and believe me it gets very humid in Ct. in summer. I use a full face mask and use the humidifier on passover (shut off so the air blows over the water and no heat on). In fact I can sleep without the humidifier in the summer due to natural humidity in the air. I use an air conditioner at times, mainly to keep the dogs cool. Most of the time I put a fan in the window blowing the nightime air in and I also use a floor fan to circulate the air in the bedroom. pat

[Rabid1]

I was considering starting a similar thread, since this will be my first summer with the PAP.

C'mon, some of you veterans out there must have some secrets to share.

[GoofyUT]

Many here have suggested storing the distilled water for the humidifier (used in pass-over mode) in the refrigerator so that it is chilled when you fill the tank each evening. This is particularly suitable for climates with high ambient humidiity in the summer, such as Connecticut (where I lived for 20 years, and YES, it IS humid in the summer). Though the water will warm to room-ambient temperature as the night goes on, the initial chill is comforting enough to allow you to get to sleep.

Hope this helps.

Chuck

[kavanaugh1950]

goofy, great tip! I'm gonna try that one, I love the feel of cool air blowing in my face. pat

[Snoredog]

same here, with the price of PG&E you cannot afford to run the air all night, last July think my PG&E bill was like $670.00 when we had that 2 week period where it was over 100F every day.

I can sleep when it is warm but not hot, where I live we don't have humidity unless it is raining.

I like having a quiet fan blow on me, I also have a Casablanca Ceiling fan above the bed, during the summer it never gets shut off. Wal-mart has a little 6" diameter fan from China for like $6 bucks, it is pretty quiet and works pretty well. Set that guy on the night stand blowing on you it works pretty good.

Last couple nights it has cooled off with the Delta breeze, when that happens I open up the sliding door and turn on the whole house fan to cool off the attic.

I just applied for that PG&E medical allowance, since cpap qualifies as a compressor, supposed to save about 20% from increased baseline allowance.
You have to renew it every 2yrs, but my doctor didn't have any problem signing and certifying me.

[roster]

[quote="kavanaugh1950"]........and believe me it gets very humid in Ct. in summer. ...............

[Goofproof]

I have central A/C, but put in 10000 BTU window unit for the bedroom. The rest of the house can be warmer, but my bedroom can be cool.

It uses little electric, I probably save using it. It goes down to 64 degrees, you can guess where I run it. Jim

[JeffH]

I have central A/C, but put in 10000 BTU window unit for the bedroom. The rest of the house can be warmer, but my bedroom can be cool.

It uses little electric, I probably save using it. It goes down to 64 degrees, you can guess where I run it. Jim

That's what I did, only a 5000 BTU unit. Works like a charm. Turn the central unit up when I go to bed and enjoy the cool air in the bedroom.

[Gerald]

Joey......

When you wake up in the middle of the night, and before you change position, be aware of the temperature between your body and the mattress.

Some mattresses are worse than others when it comes to dissipation of body heat. You may be tossing and turning mainly because of a heat buildup between your body and the mattress.

In order to cope with the body heat problem I have with the soft mattress that I sleep on, I built a heat exchanger utilizing a "Cool Shirt".......the same shirt with tubing sewn into it that NASCAR drivers use. I split the shirt up the sides.......spread the front and rear halves out.....and I sleep on top of tubing that has water circulating through it all night long.

I know it sounds crazy, but it has worked well for the past couple of years.

If you enjoy the ability to fabricate things, send me a personal message and I'll let you know how to build a "bed cooler".

Gerald

[littlemo]

wow there's some great tips on here! we have air but often opt for turning the ceilings fans on, I find this helps. some people only use Humidification part time, it really doesn't have to be used all the time. you can try without and see how you do
How about making ice cubes with distilled water? turn the heat off, once again it melts as the night goes on but will stay cool longer

[Rabid1]

[quote="Gerald"]Joey......

When you wake up in the middle of the night, and before you change position, be aware of the temperature between your body and the mattress.

Some mattresses are worse than others when it comes to dissipation of body heat. You may be tossing and turning mainly because of a heat buildup between your body and the mattress.

In order to cope with the body heat problem I have with the soft mattress that I sleep on, I built a heat exchanger utilizing a "Cool Shirt".......the same shirt with tubing sewn into it that NASCAR drivers use. I split the shirt up the sides.......spread the front and rear halves out.....and I sleep on top of tubing that has water circulating through it all night long.

I know it sounds crazy, but it has worked well for the past couple of years.

If you enjoy the ability to fabricate things, send me a personal message and I'll let you know how to build a "bed cooler".

Gerald

[Wulfman]

Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:21 pm

For what it's worth........

I keep a small, plastic (pop) bottle of distilled water in the refrigerator for filling the humidifier tank. Last night I even put it in the freezer for awhile before I poured it in the tank (it was close to freezing). I do not use any heat in my humidifier, either. This morning my AHI was .3, which was one little hypopnea for the night. My average AHI for the last 7 days is .5. The COOL humidity works for me.

Just a thought.....on these hot days.

Den

Been working for me (in the warm months) since I started my therapy. I keep the bottles of water in the refrigerator all year round, but in the summer time a little extra cooling in the freezer helps.

Den

[joeyv20]

Thanks folks! I appreciate all the wisdom! Tonight I am going to try freezing the water in my by pass or over pass or whatever we all know is a non-heated humidifier. I don't need the water that much right off anyhow, I figure it iwll melt in time and will cool me as it goes for at least a portion of the night. I have begun to develop a sore upper lip from the sweat and the cpap mask, not a good thing. We are going to begin shopping for a smaller air conditioning unit for the bedroom this weekend. I wasn't sure it was a good idea, it sounded interesting but, I was concerned that in my sleep deprived stupor I would just throw money at something with a hopeful heart that would turn out to be a bad or, at least not a worthwhile investment, money that would hve been spent better elsewhere. You have convinced me that I can turn the thermostat up, save money on cooling the house and make the small unit worthwhile. Thanks!

Costco, here I come!

Joey

[roster]

http://tinyurl.com/ytmlpq

Cooler shirt.