Taking Naps with the mask

[wmcanally]

Would you say it's a good idea to take my sat and Sun nap ( 1 hour) with the mask ( CPAP) My Doctor told me it was up to me. He didnt wear his for a nap less than a hour. Just wondered what others do. Ive been wearing it. Only time i can get a nap is on the weekend. The hour is up before you know it. Sometimes im only down for 30-45 min.

HAve a great Weekend!!

[mars]

Hi

It is very much an individual thing -

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69482&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=nap+naps

There are those who can nap without cpap and without desaturation, and those who cannot. It all depends on achieving a combination of body position, neck and head position, and your personal throat architecture.

Sitting up, with my head back, works for me. Using an oximeter with the alarm set to go off if you start to desaturate is the safe way to go.

cheers

Mars

[JointPain]

I always wear mine for naps.

If I have a nap, it's because I'm pretty exhausted and can't get by without one. That's exactly when my Apneas are likely to be bad, and about the worst condition I could be in to cope with them. (Not that any condition particularly lends itself to "suffocating" myself in my sleep.)

I also like the security of wearing it. I can relax more easily and get better value out of the nap.

It also reinforces the notion that sleeping means masking up. This is particularly important for newbies, but it's a good habit for more experienced users as well.

[Lizistired]

If you are going to take a nap, wear your mask.
When I first started xpap I wanted a nap around 9am every day. I think because my brain knew it was Ok to sleep and I needed to catch up. That lasted about 2 weeks. If I fall asleep on the couch or in the recliner without the mask, I desat really bad and pay for it for several hours with blurred vision and brain fog. So I think naps are good, just don't do it without the mask. Drag the machine into the living room or just go to bed.

[dnrperez]

As a new user I have found that the quality of naps has improved dramatically. I work weird hours(24+ on/48 off) and I usually take a nap on my 1st day off due to alot of times not being to sleep while on duty.

[chunkyfrog]

If I nap without my mask, I pay for it dearly.
Horrible headache--I feel even LESS rested after than before.
I even feel horrible if I fall asleep in the car--even when DH is driving.

[JeffL]

My naps aren't planned. They just happen while watching TV. Since I've been on CPAP, they last from 10 to 30 minutes, before CPAP, they lasted up to 3 hours

[RachelM]

If a nap is needed for refreshment in the middle of afternoon, I always use CPAP. If I don't, my nap is broken up with awakenings because of throat closing.

[Lizistired]

I love naps. They average 2.0 hours and 0.0 AHI.

[napstress]

I used to wonder about this, too, myself. Then someone pointed out that oxygen deprivation to the brain is just as likely to occur during a nap as during the night.

I don't have to worry about desats, but I mask up for my naps, anyway. My sleep at night sucks, but I am an excellent napper. Using the mask while napping has reinforced a positive attitude toward my mask and the therapy.

[avi123]

Would you say it's a good idea to take my sat and Sun nap ( 1 hour) with the mask ( CPAP) My Doctor told me it was up to me. He didnt wear his for a nap less than a hour. Just wondered what others do. Ive been wearing it. Only time i can get a nap is on the weekend. The hour is up before you know it. Sometimes im only down for 30-45 min.

HAve a great Weekend!!

Having a nap with the CPAP and mask is a rare opportunity to learn that our diagnostic data taken from our CPAPs are bogus and would never come close to the data that we get from a PSG in a clinic.

Take a look: when I lay down to take nap with my Resmed's S9 Autoset for less than an hour in the P.M., and check the sleep quality report in the machine screen immediately after the nap then I see an AHI of 37 for the 40 min long nap. It's made mostly of hypopneas.

However, when I go to sleep later that evening, the machine keeps adding this data to my nightly sleep events. So, when I check my sleep quality in the morning after 6 hours of sleep, I'll see (much) higher values of events. My nap at yesterday's P.M. added to the nightly average hourly AHI about 9 points.
For example, if your true AHI is five then the AHI shown in your machine would show AHI of 14.

Things like this don't happen during attended PSG in a clinic because the technologist would discard such data as being during a non sleep time.

[ameriken]

I look at it this way: sleep apnea means we stop breathing when we sleep, or in other words, we are in the process of suffocation. I'm sure you're already aware of all the stress put on your body when you sleep such as your O2 levels dropping, your heart working overtime to try and keep the body functioning while it is partially suffocating, the slaps of adrenaline to your heat as your body tries to restart your breaething, and all that other extra stress that your body is being put through.

So the question is not whether or not you want to wear your mask or not, but rather whether you want to sleep and do more harm to your body, or if you want to beathe while you're sleeping and get the benefit of your body sleeping normally with enough O2.

IMO, you're better off NOT napping at all than you are napping without the mask.

[bdp522]

If I plan a nap, I mask up. Unfortunately sometimes I plan to stay awake and all of a sudden I'm waking from a nap. This is rare but it does happen. When it does, I feel horrible and sleepy until I mask up at bed time. I think we need to mask up everytime we sleep for as long(or short) as we sleep.

Brenda

[Janknitz]

Mask up whenever you think you're going to sleep, even for a few minutes. Apnea is a death of a thousand cuts. You are experiencing those cuts even when you doze off for a short while.

If I fall asleep straight upright in a chair, within 10 minutes I'll have severe reflux, which means that I've had a severe apnic event. So I know I can't get away with even a few minutes.

I'm so comfortable with my CPAP now that I crave it during the day. I'm a little tired, and reading this thread makes me want to go into the bedroom for a snooze with my mask on. Part of it is my Padacheek lining is soft, it's like wrapping yourself in a favorite blankie to go to sleep.

[cindjo717]

I am having horrible problems with leaks and think tomorrow I will go online to pad a cheek and order a leak strap. would a mask liner like the one you mentioned help with the seal? I wonder....