Couple Months Into the treatment

[Kurtz]

Its been a few months I can't say I feel 100% burst of energy during the day but lucky I can say I don't nod off as much while driving again, probably a handful of times.

From other posts I've read I understand there is a sleep deficit to make up, so for optimum results I am guessing it would take longer than a few months, AHI has been roughly 5 an under with occasion highs of 7.

What I am asking is roughly how long till I can feel a difference in day to day, saw ppl on utube saying after 40 days they were full of life 100 times better - I just want to see if it is not me alone and it takes longer than a month to start feeling completely energised.

And on a side note my Dr told me that I have to get 8 hours sleep - Is that really necessary? I probably get between 5 & 7

[ChicagoGranny]

It's not all about CPAP. How do you do with this checklist?

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- Try to avoid daytime naps.
- Practice total abstinence of caffeine including sources like chocolate (sigh)
- Review all medicines, vitamins and supplements you are taking to make sure none are interfering with sleep
- Use the bedroom for sleeping (and sex) only, and make sure the bedroom and bed are comfortable.
- Optimize emotional stress in your life
- Use CPAP software to make sure your therapy is optimized
- If you still don't feel or sleep well, make sure you have regular medical checkups to confirm there are no other medical problems.

[LSAT]

+1

[Julie]

You don't have to get 8 hrs sleep any more than you need 8 glasses of water a day. Everyone's different and Cpap for apnea can change your whole sleep situation a lot... you probably slept too many hrs prior to Cpap and are likely to sleep less when using it... give things time to level out though. A bunch of us seem to now get only 5-6 hrs of continuous sleep overnite, but then need a 1-2 hr nap (with Cpap) during the day.

[jonny515]

No, the 8 hours a day is a myth. IF you are refreshed after 5 that would be plenty. I have been getting 7 for years (not someone who felt exhausted even with sleep apnea), so it's probably more like 6 in my case. I am very healthy, but also eat a good diet and get exercise (NOT saying that will work if you are exhausted from apnea!!!)

[chunkyfrog]

Number of hours needed varies, babies need way more; teenagers maybe 8 or 9;
Elders way less. That's general--you need what YOU need.
As for feeling energized: A hundred percent rarely comes back all at once.
Improvement is incremental. It sneaks up on you.
At four months, I finally noticed it, but it wasn't huge, and it kept getting better.

[Mudrock63]

I've been at this 2 1/2 months and my therapy is not optimized yet. Even so, I feel better on 6 1/2 hours sleep with cpap than I ever did with 8 1/2 hours untreated. Getting by with many fewer naps and of shorter duration. Trying to eliminate them completely. It really is an incremental process. With your treatment optimized, your body will tell you the appropriate amount of sleep you need. Give it time and see how you feel.

[ChicagoGranny]

No, the 8 hours a day is a myth. IF you are refreshed after 5 that would be plenty.

Elders way less.

I would like to see some good science references behind these statements. In the meantime, I am keeping them filed under "Myth".

[GettingBetter]

I'm bumping this back up the list because ChicagoGranny's list is so darn good!

It's not all about CPAP. How do you do with this checklist?

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- Try to avoid daytime naps.
- Practice total abstinence of caffeine including sources like chocolate (sigh)
- Review all medicines, vitamins and supplements you are taking to make sure none are interfering with sleep
- Use the bedroom for sleeping (and sex) only, and make sure the bedroom and bed are comfortable.
- Optimize emotional stress in your life
- Use CPAP software to make sure your therapy is optimized
- If you still don't feel or sleep well, make sure you have regular medical checkups to confirm there are no other medical problems.

Also add - FInd out the benefits and harmful impact of mouth breathing and decide if you are optimizing your therapy with good nose breathing habits.

[kteague]

While your residual AHI isn't "bad" I have to wonder if your treatment is yet optimized. Look at it this way, at 5 events per hour in a 5 hour night it's 25 events. Even if just a few of them caused arousal, that's still disrupted sleep. Maybe you could get even better numbers that could lead to better daytime results.

About your hours of sleep, do you wake up on your own or to an alarm? And does the sleep you do get seem sound and restful? Whether the amount is enough in the long term remains to be seen. I wouldn't be concerned yet, but it doesn't hurt to make sure your treatment and your sleep is the best it can be.