Does High O2 From Using Cpap Inhibit Dreaming

Borg,

Does anyone use a cpap machine and find that they sleep but they still have problems staying awake during the day? So even though the apneas are reduced, they really don't see a benefit from the machine and quit using it.

I have a theory that lowered oxygen levels allows the brain to go to the REM or dreaming stage of sleep. If a person maintains high oxygen levels then the brain will not jump to the REM stage of sleep. The body has different ways to controll the level of O2. One is hyponea or a series of hyponeas. The other is shallow regular breathing. The other is a slowed rate of breaths taken. My guess is that it is a combination of all three. The breathin rythm might lool rather chaotic during REM. I am not sure how low the O2 has to go but I would guess in the high 80s. If you maintain mid to high 90s then you might not get that jump to REM.

I don't think your theory has any basis in sound science. People who do not have SDB do NOT desaturate in their sleep, and most people dream just fine and get good, restorative sleep. People whose oxygen levels fall into the 80's during the night need treatment.

EVERY time you sleep without CPAP, you are causing cumulative organ damage that will eventually cause big harm to your body. So no dream is worth that.

I also question whether your therapy is optimal. I have much more vivid and interesting dreams now that I'm on CPAP. You mentioned not only remembering your dreams, but also not feeling restored when you use your CPAP. That makes me wonder what your stats are? Have you looked at your data on Onkor or Sleepyhead to make sure your therapy is optimal?

An excellent show is PBS nova what are dreams

In it they explain the difference between REM dreams and the dreams that happen at other times during the night. Basically REM dreams are used to deal with the more challenging events that have happened to you and they are required for memory retention. The dreams that happen at other times tend to be the "happy" dreams (sometimes very "happy" dreams). With REM dreams you get the dream paralysis that people report and it has nothing to do with low O2. However it can CAUSE low O2 due to the dream paralysis or centrals. Nightmares are also more associated with REM dreams since they process the scarier side of live.

If you don't have enough REM your memory will be bad and sometimes you will start to dream as you are awake (Hallucinations and psychosis)

The only reason you may feel more energized when awoken from a dream when your cpap machine is not in use is the adrenaline flooding your system due to almost dying, which is not good for your heart.

You ask a good question. I have not knowledge of this. If you have a sleep doc you trust at all, then write him a note with your question. If nothing else, he should be concerned with how you feel during the waking hours. If the treatment does not feel it is making you more alert, and so on, then maybe the treatment needs to be changed in some way.

If you get an answer, please let us know.

What are normal O2 levels for each stage of sleep? You have stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM.


In stage 3 and 4 the the brain and body slow down. Is this due to reduced O2 levels? or Does the brain and body metablolism slow down so that a high O2 level can be maintained. Remember breathing slows downs a lot. I am thinking that the brain shuts down breathing and that drops the O2 levels and the body resposonds by slowing heart rate and other metabolism processes due to an O2 drop. I'll go on step further. What happens if the mechanism that slows metabolism doesn't work and O2 drops but the bodies metabolism stays high. This is when the cells burn up due to lack of O2 and serious permanent damgage is done.

Normal O2 levels are 95 - 100%. Levels as low as 90% are acceptable.

This applies to you when you are sleeping, running, swimming, walking, reading, typing, angry, happy, content, eating, and so on.

The body regulates this through your breathing. When you are awake you can take deeper breaths but do them less frequently, or you can take shallow breaths and do them more frequently. When you sleep you tend to do shallow breaths more frequently.

When your oxygen levels drop below normal, the body initiates the fight or flight response to get your levels back up again. If this is repeated often, you end up with damage to your circulatory system.