Fairly new to c-pap ~ another question ~ sorry

[hope2sleep]

Does the c-pap know if you are asleep or awake while you are using it. I am feeling frustrated this morning/afternoon. I am a night shift worker, and was trying to take my before work nap. Got my mask all strapped on, and then just layed there and layed there. I may have dozed off briefly a few times, but it didn't seem like it. It felt like I just layed there and didn't sleep. Don't know.

Another question. The lady who came to my house to show me how to use the machine said I should use it even in the daytime to take a nap. Except for the naps I take when I have to go to work, naps I take in the daytime on my days off just kind of happen and are unplanned. Like I am sitting there ~ maybe watching TV and just kind of doze off. I was sleepy one day and tried to do like she said and go use the machine. By the time I went to my room and got all hooked up, I was wide awake and just layed there awake and though tired couldn't fall asleep.

If I am using the machine as I should at night and in the day after I've worked, is it a real bad thing if I should happen to doze off from time to time and have a nap without the machine on?

[Sleep4aHealthyLife]

hope2sleep,

Your questions are very common ones, so don't worry, you're doing fine!

Previously, I was a sleep tech and used to set people up with CPAP in their home. Here's the thing with CPAP: it "treats" your sleep apnea, but doesn't "cure" it. What I mean is, every time you use the CPAP machine, it will allow you to rest peacefully (as you adjust to it in time) without any apnea. However, if you take it off in the middle of the night or nap without it, you still have the apnea. There are no residual effects of using it the night before, etc.

With that said, I think it is important to remember balance in your sleep life. The more you use the machine (even if tiring in the beginning), the more quickly your body will get used to it. However, if it takes you 20 minutes to fall asleep with the machine and you only have 20 minutes to take a nap, it is kind of self-defeating and maybe you can consider not using it, on that limited basis.

Also, I wanted to ask if you knew your AHI (Apnea/ Hypopnea Index), which is how many times you stop breathing per hour of sleep. This is important to consider as well, especially if it is severe, since apnea can potentially lead to cardiac issues.

Overall, your CPAP will take some getting used to, but in the long run, you will feel rested like never before. And if you are getting between 7 - 8 hours of sleep/ night (or day for you) , you should not need to take those naps anymore. The average person (without any sleep disorders) needs 7-8 hours/ night of sleep for all the energy necessary throughout the day.

I sincerely hope this helps and if you have any questions, please feel free to post them anytime, as it helps others who may not want to post at all! Also, PM me if you want to.

Have a blessed day!

[Georgio]

Welcome. After using cpap for awhile you may not need naps! Until then, use the cpap during naps as much as possible. Remember that when you are asleep without cpap you body is likely being deprived of oxygen. Not good. If I fall asleep now without cpap, I wake up with my throat irritated and feeling worse than before my nap.

Good luck and remember there is plenty of folks here who would like to help.

Georgio

[mulezicman]

Nice advice. I do not nap anymore. I am now wide awake during the day. I stopped breathing 94 times an hour and my setting is at 15. Getting that machine is the best thing I ever did besides quit smoking and that helped a great deal too........

[hope2sleep]

Thank you for your answers. Not to be disagreeing with you, I just wanted to explain. I am thinking that the feeling sleepy in the day time is only partly to do with how well I rested the night before and partly a shift worker issue. Some night shift workers keep the same waking/sleeping schedule on their days off and they stay up all night even on their nights off. I do what some others do and switch back and forth from night time living to day time living so I can enjoy life with the rest of my family. So, I think this is part of the reason for my day time sleepiness, my body maybe is confused and doesn't know whether it should be awake or asleep.

[crossfit junkie]

You guys are all so helpful! Is it OK for me now to sleep on my back with CPAP machine? I use to be so afraid of waking up unable to breathe. I'm still on a trial run and dr isn't sure which machine is best for me yet. I have had 2 sleep studies though. As I mentioned in another post, I have 2 perscriptions to try: CPAP with pressure of 12 (finishing that 2 week period tonight) and BiPAP pressure of 18/10.(trying that trial starting tomorrow). Yes, I DO have my numbers right this time!
CFJ

[sam1234]

Thank you for your answers. Not to be disagreeing with you, I just wanted to explain. I am thinking that the feeling sleepy in the day time is only partly to do with how well I rested the night before and partly a shift worker issue. Some night shift workers keep the same waking/sleeping schedule on their days off and they stay up all night even on their nights off. I do what some others do and switch back and forth from night time living to day time living so I can enjoy life with the rest of my family. So, I think this is part of the reason for my day time sleepiness, my body maybe is confused and doesn't know whether it should be awake or asleep.

My experience with shift workers,is that they have a difficult time sleeping. Most seem sleep deprived. Some people seem to adapt and do well for years. Through informal polls that I have conducted, the average (night) shift worker slept between 4 and 6 hours in a 24 hour period. Some tried to keep the same hours that they worked as waking hours and many switched back and forth.

It probably doesn't help to have sleep disorder as a shift worker.

[Georgio]

I believe that sleeping all different times of the day and night would fall under the heading of what I have heard called in the profession,
poor sleep "hygiene". Understandably a necessary evil with your work, I imagine your body gets confused when it is supposed to sleep and wake up. The cpap can't help with that problem, however can insure that your body isin't robbed of oxygen at night.

I would try to standardize my sleep schedule as much as possible, plan naps the same time each day so you can use the machine. It can be difficult to sleep with the machine at first, but it gradually gets easier.

Learn all you can on this site, ask any questions that you have, and you will get better.

Georgio