what are the reasons of different AHI from night to night?

[williamco]

aside from alcohol or medications, what are the reasons of a widely changed AHI from one night to another
under same pressure, leak, mask, CPAP settings?

Thanks for your input

[bdp522]

sleep position-you might get higher #s in different positions
daytime stress-I know stress makes my #s go up
daytime activities-exhausting yourself during the day may make you sleep deeper at night, you may have different #s of events during different sleep levels


Brenda

[howkim]

aside from alcohol or medications, what are the reasons of a widely changed AHI from one night to another under same pressure, leak, mask, CPAP settings?

Your body is a dynamic organism. Everything changes all the time. For example, if you took your blood pressure twice, fifteen minutes apart, you probably won't have exactly the same readings both times.

[Eureka]

I know what you mean about the different numbers. I have averaged 1.7 AHI for the past three weeks. Then last night I had a 3.6. I actually had a pretty good night's sleep except for the last hour or so. Must have flipped over on my back.

CLW

[millich]

daytime stress-I know stress makes my #s go up

I've noticed the same thing. This is fascinating to me. Why does stress cause our numbers to go up??? Are we holding ourselves more rigidly? Are we holding our breaths? I don't get this.

[lazyace]

All replies are probably correct. I asked the guy that scored my PSG the same question, and he told me that there are too many variables to really answer the question with any certainty. He said that what you eat/drink, when you consume it, nasal congestion, stress, time you go to bed, how long you tossed and turned, how well you slept the previous few nights, meds you take, leaks, room temp, sleep position, etc. may impact your AHI values. Moreover, he indicated that because there are so many variables, he doesn't recommend looking at daily numbers. In fact, he isn't a big fan of looking at AHI numbers as a guide, because the two components that make up the index are not comprehensive enough to evaluate sleep architecture.

[williamco]

It is very interesting variables but my take on these variables are not to disregard daily AHI because variables are too much to sort out, but to the contrary, it is to look deeply into these variables and try to study their effect on different people.

the reason is there are so many people who are not relieved 100% by CPAP therapy despite doning everything right, they are having AHI that is a bid high, so why not investigate these variables in more details in these cases

also, if figuring out your own variables can improve your AHI number and sleep quality and energy level even more, why not dig deeper into them ?

remember the cause of sleep apnea is still unknown, so if you say that stress affect your AHI number, does it mean stress is a contributing factor in developing sleep apnea?