Motel mattresses, stomach air and other things

[track]

I just got back from a trip and discovered I got better numbers in those crappy motel beds than I do at home on my luxurious pillow top mattress. A committed side sleeper... who sleeps with two hard balls on my back...stayed on my side in the hard motel beds whereas with the pillow top mattress I can on occasion roll on my back while laying on two very hard 4 inch diameter balls and not wake up. I might have to go mattress shopping for a cheap hard mattress.....or I guess I could sleep on the floor... but it's too hard.

For all you that suffer from taking in stomach air...I highly recommend side sleeping. I can successfully treat my apnea with a pressure of 7 on my side and I need more than double that if I allow myself to get on my back during the night.

Other benefits....never any leak problems at 7...all sorts of issues at 15 with masks.

[roster]

...I highly recommend side sleeping. I can successfully treat my apnea with a pressure of 7 on my side and I need more than double that if I allow myself to get on my back during the night.

Other benefits....never any leak problems at 7...all sorts of issues at 15 with masks.

I am in Track's corner. I was titrated at 19 cm by a sleep lab and pretty much confirmed this with my machine and software at home.

Then I started wearing in bed a small backpack, http://tinyurl.com/4bfg55, in which I inserted a 20-ounce empty water bottle. Even on a pillow-top mattress I won't roll onto my back. At 8.5 cm I am getting AHI around 0.5 with all hypopneas- no apneas.

BTW, was invited to go backpacking this weekend. I told my buddies to go to h***, I already "backpack" 8 hours per day 365 days per year. That is enough for me.

[MandoJohnny]

I put in nearly 200 nights a year in hotels. It is a challenge for people with sleep issues. I too, prefer side sleeping, but I do have some caveats. My chiropractor told me, and I think it makes sense, that a person should try to split thier side sleeping, equally left and right, or it can cause spinal issues over time. I was a committed right-side guy, but I have taught myself to sleep on the left side. Also, sometimes I just can't get to sleep on my side and I have sleep on my back, so I just have live with that. Also, I find I get more leaks on my side, because the side pressure on the pillow tends to push the mask to one side. I recently switched from a Swift to an Opus, which has helped that a lot, but the effect is still there.

As far as hotels go, some of the major chains, like Marriott and Hilton, now have some great beds and bedding. Often it is better than home. It really is worth it to pay the extra and stay at these hotels and if you work at, you can get deals that are often equal to, or only a few bucks more, than the lesser chains.

[track]

Rooster....If you tire of that waterpak,(I did) you might try a short sleeve Under Armour compression T-shirt. It contains 18% elastome. They are cool to wear in the summer and the compressive nature of the material will hold about anything in place that you put inside along your spine. I get the medium(a size smaller than I wear). It's cooler than a cotten T-shirt. If I want to hold something really tight then I wear two of them..one medium and one large...still cooler temp than one cotton T. I pick them up at Dick's for 25 bucks a piece. You can use anything from a tennis ball to a regulation soft ball to a kids size soccer ball. Just push it down your back from the top or up from the bottom.

[roster]

Track, I wear the same shirts for sleeping year round. They are much cooler and never get wet because they wick the sweat away. I found TJ Max usually has a brand x type for $12.99. The logos tend to fall off when laundered and I am sure the higher quality Under Armour logos stay on. But when the lights are out you can't see the logos anyway.

BTW, I tried the tennis balls but there was always too much racket to sleep.

[track]

I tried the tennis balls but there was always too much racket to sleep.

LOL...good one.

[DreamDiver]

I just got back from a trip and discovered I got better numbers in those crappy motel beds than I do at home on my luxurious pillow top mattress.

My experience is that pillow-tops hammock too quickly. We bought one a year ago. We will never get a pillow-top again. Hotel beds don't stick around in decent hotels long enough to hammock.