Elevated sleeping position - good for cpap therapy?

roster · Post by **roster** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:10 pm

When I was diagnosed with osa about 7 months ago, I tried to train myself to sleep on my side with no success.

What I find extremely comfortable for my back and neck is sleeping on my back on a 4-inch wedge pillow plus a memory foam contour pillow (the one with a little curved cradle for the back of the head so the spine is well aligned). This puts my head about 5 inches elevation above the mattress.

I also find this pillow combination great for side sleeping which I do about one hour per night in 30-minute spells.

This pillow combination also works well with the way I manage the cpap hose.

Is this pillow combination good or bad for cpap therapy?

mousetater · Post by **mousetater** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:45 pm

I don't know if it is good for cpap therapy, but the wedge pillow with contour pillow on top is exactly what I was told to do in the time between when my surgeon found my apnea during surgery, until I got my equipment. It took about 6 weeks to get the sleep study and then the results. I bought my equipment from cpap.com, so that part was quick. The doctor told me I absolutely was not allowed to lay flat to sleep until I had my equipment.

roadwarrior · Post by **roadwarrior** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:48 pm

the more elevated you are, the less the nasal tissues and soft tissues of the palate swell. So the short answer is YES, a elevated method of sleep will only assist the therapy. Just as it does when you have a cold or the flu for the same reason........

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:59 pm

Unless you are so elevated your chin drops towards your chest which would close your airway.

Snoozy Q · Post by **Snoozy Q** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:28 pm

Roadwarrior,
You mentioned that elevation reduces swelling of nasal passages and soft palate. Could you elaborate on this? I've always thought of sleeping with head elevated as aiding in "drainage" when you had a cold but didn't realize it could be helpful even without cold symtoms.

Thanks.

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:54 pm

If your shoulders and whole upper body are elevated it should help. As someone noted your head should not be tipped forward so the chin is on the chest. If weight plays a role in your OSA-elevating the upper body would help-like sleeping in a recliner.

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 5:34 pm

rooster wrote:When I was diagnosed with osa about 7 months ago, I tried to train myself to sleep on my side with no success.

What I find extremely comfortable for my back and neck is sleeping on my back on a 4-inch wedge pillow plus a memory foam contour pillow (the one with a little curved cradle for the back of the head so the spine is well aligned). This puts my head about 5 inches elevation above the mattress.

I also find this pillow combination great for side sleeping which I do about one hour per night in 30-minute spells.

This pillow combination also works well with the way I manage the cpap hose.

Is this pillow combination good or bad for cpap therapy?

I trained myself to sleep on my sides, but that was years ago. However, one thing that I never thought to mention until rooster brought this up: thicker, firmer pillows.

My shoulders are arthritic and painful, but I am still a side sleeper to keep the back in good order. My shoulder specialist doctor told me it is important when side sleeping to use more/thicker pillows to support the head and to help reduce the shoulder pain.

Rooster, you certainly have figured this out. I tend to use 3 pillows sleeping on the side, while I used 1 squishy down pillow before side-sleeping.

Elevated sleeping position - good for cpap therapy?

Elevated sleeping position - good for cpap therapy?

Re: Elevated sleeping position - good for cpap therapy?