Newbie here – I have a question - How do you know for sure that you went to sleep.

Hi every one , new member here .

So here’s my question , how do others here with sleep apnea track and confirm when you actually were asleep , not just you had a feeling like you went to sleep or you thought you may have fallen to sleep , but that in fact you did actually go to asleep while using your CPAP machine. How do you know for sure that you went to sleep.


Thanks.

How do you know you are NOT sleeping?
Let it happen---it will.
Download Oscar--your breathing tends to be regular whiie sleeping--irregular while awake.
The only way to know for sure is with an EEG-- not ideal for a restful night.
Some fitness trackers claim to record sleep--but they are mostly TOYS.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 10:27 pm

How do you know you are NOT sleeping?
Let it happen---it will.
Download Oscar--your breathing tends to be regular whiie sleeping--irregular while awake.
The only way to know for sure is with an EEG-- not ideal for a restful night.
Some fitness trackers claim to record sleep--but they are mostly TOYS.

Ive seen many posts where the CPAP user comments go some thing like this ….........

I think I've now got my machine settings about right and even managed to get some sound sleep for a several hours.

I've often wondered about when some sleep apnea sufferers posts a comment about managing to sleep for several hours or more , how did they positively know that they fell to sleep, was it just a feeling they had, or some other factual indicator .

Oscar is a wonderful option , but as far as I can see there’s no simple way a user can see any clear and easy to read ‘’ you were asleep for ‘’ indicators.

I’m almost sure the majority of sleep apnea sufferers would love to see some sort of indicator as to their sleeping patterns while using their CPAP equipment . But sadly like you point out currently there seems to be no real personal option like smart watches / fitness trackers that can accurately
produce reliable sleep tracking information .

Last night I slept soundly for 8 hours while using my ResMed 10 machine ....... Well I had a feeling that I did

Munchausen wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 1:15 am

I had a feeling that I did

And that's exactly how you determine your sleep quality.

It doesn't matter if I tell you "look there's sleep" or "oh no! That's SWJ!" or your sleep tracker registers 5 unicorns or 3 barfing emoticons.

If you are well-rested, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you wake up, you're there.

And the machines tell you how many hrs you slept... so you can subtract that from when you went to bed.

Munchausen wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 9:13 pm

Hi every one , new member here .

So here’s my question , how do others here with sleep apnea track and confirm when you actually were asleep , not just you had a feeling like you went to sleep or you thought you may have fallen to sleep , but that in fact you did actually go to asleep while using your CPAP machine. How do you know for sure that you went to sleep.


Thanks.

Respiration rate. When you're actually sleeping it will be steadily and notably higher than when awake. I find that a suitable replacement for the EEG machine we don't typically have at our disposal Mine goes from perhaps 10 to like 16-20 when asleep. Sometimes I dream that I'm eating something and I wake up to find I'm biting my Oracle mask mouthpiece. Another indication I *was* just asleep.

amenite wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 7:49 am

Respiration rate. When you're actually sleeping it will be steadily and notably higher than when awake. I find that a suitable replacement for the EEG machine we don't typically have at our disposal Mine goes from perhaps 10 to like 16-20 when asleep.

Interesting concept, what would you make of this, taken while I was "sure" I was asleep?
Was I sleeping at 4:04 and awakened 4 times in the next 4 minutes?
- But you say your "actually sleeping it will be steadily and notably higher than when awake"
Does that suggest that I was awake at 4:04 but went to sleep 4 times in the next 4 minutes ?

dataq1 wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 9:13 am

amenite wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 7:49 am

Respiration rate. When you're actually sleeping it will be steadily and notably higher than when awake. I find that a suitable replacement for the EEG machine we don't typically have at our disposal Mine goes from perhaps 10 to like 16-20 when asleep.

Interesting concept, what would you make of this, taken while I was "sure" I was asleep?
Respiration rate How do you know.jpg

Was I sleeping at 4:04 and awakened 4 times in the next 4 minutes?
- But you say your "actually sleeping it will be steadily and notably higher than when awake"
Does that suggest that I was awake at 4:04 but went to sleep 4 times in the next 4 minutes ?

I don't know what to make of that one but what I do have is a pretty consistent pattern of low respiration rate, escalating to a pretty consistent higher respiration rate, at sleep onset and continuing. It's always been that way. I can zoom in on some anomalies in my rate also, spikes above the higher average rate, and I couldn't tell you that they correspond to any awakenings I'm conscious of. If I do wake up, like if there's a break in the data because I get up for example, the same pattern persists.

amenite wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:20 am

Just to fill in some blanks, the graph that I showed above was taken on a very (AHI-wise) night, 0.13
There were no breaks in the data for an hour either side of the graphed segment, and no leaks, no flow limits, and no event at all,


Just so I'm not misunderstanding you, your experience is a slow respiration rate while awake, but a higher respiration rate when (you believe) you are asleep. Is that correct.

(BTW, it goes without saying that the "asleep" rate is steady, but what you are saying is that your rate increases in a wakeful state)

dataq1 wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 2:03 pm

amenite wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:20 am

Just so I'm not misunderstanding you, your experience is a slow respiration rate while awake, but a higher respiration rate when (you believe) you are asleep. Is that correct.

(BTW, it goes without saying that the "asleep" rate is steady, but what you are saying is that your rate increases in a wakeful state)

What it looks like to me is a modest increase in the respiration rate as I'm falling asleep/asleep, and it's not present on every single graph, but it's there enough of the time. That rate seems to be lower wakeful state, this is how it looks to me (seems like you have it flipped in the last sentence above - the resp rate starts out a bit lower in wakeful state). It also seems like the flow rate comes down a bit, and becomes more consistent, around where the respiration rate stabilizes. Maybe both of those together, flow and respiration rate combined might be a better indicator for sleep onset.

Munchausen wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 9:13 pm

Hi every one , new member here .

So here’s my question , how do others here with sleep apnea track and confirm when you actually were asleep , not just you had a feeling like you went to sleep or you thought you may have fallen to sleep , but that in fact you did actually go to asleep while using your CPAP machine. How do you know for sure that you went to sleep.


Thanks.

i sleep with a white noise generator. when i'm awake, i hear it. when i'm asleep, i do not.