Leave the pressure at 13 and whatever EPR you are currently using for at least the next 3-4 days. Don't worry about any increases in flow limitations or even in the AHI until after you've got at least 3 or 4 nights worth of data at 13cmWinnerFieldman wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2024 10:45 pmAt 16, with EPR 3, I was waking up quite bloated. I dialed it back a bit last night, and at 13 I had no aerophagia issues, although I think flow limitations slightly increased. I've updated SleepHQ's data as well now.So how bad is the aerophagia at the pressure you are currently using?
And keep in mind: The goal of CPAP is not to have a perfect AHI = 0.0 night after night with absolutely no flow limitations. The goal of CPAP is to sleep well with the machine and have the machine prevent most, but not necessarily all, of your obstructive events from happening. And sometimes the stuff in the flow limitation graph is not even related to a potentially collapsing airway---it can just be an indication of some nasal congestion or even the result of very slightly deviated septum. In other words, we don't need to try to eliminate every last flow limitation in order to sleep well.
Good. You've now got a target time in bed: I would suggest that for now you plan on trying to spend about 7 1/2 hours in bed each night with the CPAP---as long as you think you are sleeping most of that time.If I get 5 hours or less the next day is pretty much a write-off for doing any cognitive work, and I'll be in a bad mood. Six hours is typical and I can function, but I'll feel fatigued throughout and I have to manage my mood in the morning and evening. There are rare days where I get 7-8 hours, and those days feel pretty amazing: I take a lot more initiative, my thinking is more creative and sharp, and I am more empathetic.1) How much sleep do you think you need for a good night's sleep? And how much sleep do you think you actually get during a typical night?
Sounds to me that as you've gotten older, your body has shifted into becoming a morning lark. If I were you, I'd be willing to accept 5am as the time the body wants to get up. And so I'd try setting bedtime around 10pm on a regular basis, but I'd allow myself to go to be at 9:30pm if the body is good and sleepy and ready to sleep.No, I distinctly remember starting to suddenly wake up at 5am more and more regularly about 8 or 9 years ago. I started looking into my sleep about 3 years ago.2) Have you always been an early riser? In other words, are you a morning person? Is there a problem with just getting out of bed at 5 am and starting your day if that's when you typically just wake up on your own?
As for what to do with yourself between 5am and when everybody else in the family gets up: Do things that are meaningful to you and that you have trouble doing when everybody is around and awake. It might be reading. It could be getting a start on a project---either work or hobby related. My husband gets up pretty regularly between 4:30 and 5:00 and he enjoys the three hours or so before I wake up. He makes his breakfast and then starts doing some reading and writing that he knows he won't have time for later in the day. He loves the quiet because it lets him concentrate on what he's writing in a very focused way. He also typically does some yoga-type stretches that have been recommended by his knee doctor for both his knee pain and some related back pain during that quiet time before I get up.
Stress is a huge killer of quality sleep. And yeah, it's very difficult to figure out a normal level of zen.Another thing I've tried and discounted (but keep coming back to now and then) is general stress management. I've picked up a few techniques for being more aware of stress and managing it, and I feel I generally manage well. There's nothing that's continually stressing me out at the moment. It's hard to know what a normal level of zen is though.4) Is there something else that might be causing the bad quality sleep?
Do keep in mind that simply starting CPAP is a stressor for a lot of folks. There's a lot to get used to and it takes a while to settle into a cleaning routine that works for you along with learning the skills needed to sleep well with the machine.
And since you have been dealing with aerophagia and you've been over-worrying about the residual flow limitations, I think both of those are a source of unidentified stress for you that could be affecting your sleep quality. Hopefully now that you know you can pretty much not worry about the flow limitations and that you may be able to reduce your pressure enough to rein in the aerophagia, those won't be stressing you out anymore.