27 ms·

Fellas (and it's mainly guys, though women are affected too), if your SO is complaining about your snoring, or you're just "feeling old", get a sleep study. Wha

Fellas (and it's mainly guys, though women are affected too), if your SO is complaining about your snoring, or you're just "feeling old", get a sleep study. What this article is talking about - is stress, and that stress is slowly killing you. It was killing me. Making my blood pressure higher, making my cholesterol numbers slightly out of whack, affecting my A1C levels. Nothing terrible - but all "out of adjustment", but easily correctable with meds. Then my doctor suggested a sleep study (my dentist had already recommended one due to my teeth grinding). I did it. Ended up getting a CPAP - and that's been a life-changer! I instantly felt at least 10-15 years younger, was able to think more clearly, my wife has been able to get good sleep. In fact, I went from being able to wake up everyone in the house with my loud snoring to my wife checking on me through the night to make sure I'm still alive because I'm now so quiet! I absolutely love it! The machine itself is whisper quiet. I use nasal pillows instead of the face mask and it's very comfortable. Takes a couple of days to get used to, may have to adjust the settings on your unit to make it work for you, but boy is it worth it!

keybored 2y ago
I don’t have an SO to notice this but I should do this (or at least record myself sleeping). Brushing off things with “getting older” (…who above the age of twenty isn’t?[1]) when they can be dealt with is a shame. Dying too I guess. [1] Yes the age 25 seems to be the general peak, but people under that age can still complain about wrinkles.
- dlivingston 2y ago
  As a quick smoke test to see how bad your snoring is, you may want to look into the smart alarm app 'Sleep Cycle', which records snoring events.
  - grugagag 2y ago
    Any voice recorder would do, even a digital one on any smartphone.
  - keybored 2y ago
    Thank you, this was exactly what I was planning to search for later. And now that I know what to install I will go through with it too instead of procrastinating.
  - nadis 2y ago
    Sleep Cycle is great, +1 to this rec! I’ve learned a lot about my sleeping patterns from it, including breathing / coughing and depth of sleep too.
- perchard 2y ago
  check out SnoreLab (https://www.snorelab.com/ https://www.snorelab.com/), i've used it and can recommend it
from-nibly 2y ago
Don't forget about humidification, If you wake up with dry mouth, a CPAP machine can also help with that. Having a dry mouth causes all sorts of other crap as well. It makes it easier to get sick, and can cause issues with your teeth as well.
- j45 2y ago
  Humidifier and air filter is huge for sleep. So is dropping your bedroom temperature. Our bodies drop temperature before sleep to signal sleep as well, and the timing of that seems to be important to consider when sleeping.
  - colechristensen 2y ago
    >Our bodies drop temperature before sleep to signal sleep as well, and the timing of that seems to be important to consider when sleeping. I find this so annoying because I notice. Oh shit I'm cold, it's that time of night my body temperature is dropping and I'm definitely not going to be in bed in the next 15 minutes. And then I'm awake for the next 5 hours and have terrible sleep because I missed my window.
- fouc 2y ago
  Waking up with a dry mouth in the morning can happen from drinking too much water per day without sufficient electrolytes (i.e. more than 5 liters of water a day)
- nixnixers 2y ago
  After the recent CPAP recall, and keeping in mind that many problems don't result in a proper recall, I would suggest avoiding a CPAP if your reasons are trivial.
  - bhhaskin 2y ago
    You can't get a CPAP without a prescription (at least in the US).
grubbs 2y ago
Bleh. I did exactly this and got a CPAP. I just can't fall asleep with it. I've heard of possible surgery. Or that implantable device. Maybe I'll look into those.
- peeters 2y ago
  I recently started using CPAP and one thing I noticed in the sleep study, besides all the other reasons it was hard to fall asleep, was that when they were doing the titration test to find the best initial pressure, they set it very low and then let it climb up once I stopped breathing at that setting. The problem was, I actually found it difficult enough to breathe through my nose at that pressure that I would just keep myself awake because I couldn't relax with the mask on. It was kind of horrible and my technician didn't change it for hours. Eventually I started just intentionally snoring while awake to try to get her increase the pressure. No idea if she did but eventually exhaustion won out after around 4 hours. So just a thought, but if you're using an autoset machine (APAP) maybe discuss with your doctor and make sure the initial pressure is high enough that you're able to breath comfortably through your nose when fully relaxed. And also, you can experiment with different mask types depending on your sleep position.
  - taylodl 2y ago
    My machine has user comfort settings. One of those is to adjust the ramp-up time. I set mine to zero - GIVE ME MY AIR!!! After that change I was able to easily fall asleep. It was difficult prior to that. I can also adjust the humidity setting. I had to increase it a notch because I woke up in the morning with my nose running and sore - which means I was dehydrated (yeah, that wasn't how I interpreted that symptom). After those two changes I was able to fall asleep quickly and not wake up with a sore and runny nose.
    - terminatornet 2y ago
      Had the exact same experience. I hated my CPAP at first, then after a couple weeks of pressure adjustments with my sleep doc, it was damn near perfect. Can't sleep without it now.
j45 2y ago
The strange things is why has there been a huge change in so many people being diagnosed to get cpaps? I had a snoring problem, I was asked to take the test and failed it, no cpap. Turns out I may have just been not sleeping enough. might have a physical issue with my nose like I mentioned to everyone.
- jermaustin1 2y ago
  Conspiracy Theory backed up by almost no proof: CPAPs MAY soon not be regulated as a medical device, so CPAP companies are partnering and opening more sleep centers and pushing for more sleep studies so they can get their ($800-2000) for what is basically a fan that blows a low pressure stream of air into your nose/mouth. I have a CPAP, I've not noticed anything better about my quality of sleep, or the soundness of my sleep. The only thing it has prevented is my snoring. My sleep studies (did 2 of them - one didn't record my blood oxygen) showed I get ~10 (8 on first, 11 on second) apnea events a night. I still do (according to CPAP) (1.12/hr on average). As a comparison, my wife gets 3/hr now, and her sleep study showed she had over 200 events per night. She LOVES her CPAP.
  - j45 2y ago
    Interesting. Maybe it's not just about not being a regulated medical device, but who pays for it (insurance). So maybe the conspiracy that's tru is the payers can be expected to not want to have to pay so much, or so often. I'm very happy for who CPAP works for. I have lots of friends who's quality of life it improves. Had a doctor friend even recommend it to me. I took the CPAP test from a said sleep centre as referred by my doctor just to be present. Wore the machine 3 times. The folks who in my life swore I had some issues with sleep (including my partner), including loud inter floor snoring, oddly reduced or resolved themselves to some degree as soon as I started paying attention to my sleep and body. Snoring it turns out can also be a magnified by being over tired. I just wasn't sleeping enough, and while I felt sharp enough to work and live, my body needed a breather when there hadn't been a vacation for a few years. A few days off here and there yes, but sometimes that's not enough.
  - sliken 2y ago
nemo44x 2y ago
CPAP machines are pretty incredible. Sleep Apnea also destroys your lungs and puts you at much higher risk of a variety of lung diseases over time. Your heart, lungs, mouth, and significant other will thank you.
ineedaj0b 2y ago
i know this might be a personal question, but are you overweight?
- _nalply 2y ago
  In the article it has been mentioned that obesity is not a risk factor for sleep apnea.
  - ineedaj0b 2y ago
    not my experience in clinic
  - Jensson 2y ago
    You can be overweight without being obese.
samatman 2y ago
As a first-line treatment, I urge anyone who either snores, or is just fatigued after sleep, to try a nasal stent/dilator. This isn't the strips which go on the outside of the nose, although those work for some people, they're less effective. I use the Rhinomed, but there's several brands, that's just the first one I got, and if you drop them in a small bowl of water in the morning and rinse them off a few hours later, they'll last forever. It's just a little piece of medical-grade plastic which you stick in both nostrils, and it props them open. Some people are are going to need a CPAP, but trying the nasal stent doesn't take a sleep study, insurance, or a machine which you plug in and maintain: it takes twenty bucks. Probably don't jump straight in to using it every night, it takes the nostrils awhile to get used to them, but I have no discomfort at all starting around the second week of using them. I would even go so far as to say everyone should just pick them up and try them out. One benefit that never occurred to me is that when I have mild congestion, the mechanical action of the stent will drain it, and no one sleeps well with a stuffy nose. Getting more oxygen per breath while sleeping has no downsides, even if you think you don't need it. If you ever wake up with one sinus filled with mucus, definitely give it a try.
- okramcivokram 2y ago
  I don't understand how these types of devices are supposed to help, as it's not my nostrils that get blocked, but the far back of my throat.
  - samatman 2y ago
    They mechanically open the nostril, which resists sinus closure, and that has knock-on effects for the rest of the respiratory tract. Nostrils basically don't block unless you stick something in them, but sinuses do, and opening the nostril helps directly with that. As a sinus starts to fill or close, it gets harder to pull air through the nostril, and noses are pretty flexible, so the passage narrows, which further narrows the sinus. Eventually you have a blockage, and start mouth breathing, and that's what triggers the blockage you're referring to. Sinuses serve an important purpose in humidifying air, which is important for the proper function of tonsils, especially the adenoid: adenoidal swelling is the major cause of apnea, and dry air from mouth breathing can easily trigger it. It doesn't work for everyone, and some people are just going to need a CPAP. But it's a no-commitment intervention of negligent cost, and if it works, that's a much better outcome than needing a CPAP and everything which comes with it. But there are actual, demonstrable reasons why it can serve as an alternative to the CPAP for some number of people, it isn't just woo. I hope I've done a good job of explaining why that is.
slowmovintarget 2y ago
Out of curiosity, how much of what a CPAP addresses could also be addressed with weight loss and increased fitness levels? (I have many similar issues to the symptoms you describe, but I know they're all essentially attributable to my personal fitness level.)

keybored 2y ago

I don’t have an SO to notice this but I should do this (or at least record myself sleeping). Brushing off things with “getting older” (…who above the age of twenty isn’t?[1]) when they can be dealt with is a shame. Dying too I guess. [1] Yes the age 25 seems to be the general peak, but people under that age can still complain about wrinkles.

dlivingston 2y ago
As a quick smoke test to see how bad your snoring is, you may want to look into the smart alarm app 'Sleep Cycle', which records snoring events.
- grugagag 2y ago
  Any voice recorder would do, even a digital one on any smartphone.
- keybored 2y ago
  Thank you, this was exactly what I was planning to search for later. And now that I know what to install I will go through with it too instead of procrastinating.
- nadis 2y ago
  Sleep Cycle is great, +1 to this rec! I’ve learned a lot about my sleeping patterns from it, including breathing / coughing and depth of sleep too.
perchard 2y ago
check out SnoreLab (https://www.snorelab.com/ https://www.snorelab.com/), i've used it and can recommend it

from-nibly 2y ago

Don't forget about humidification, If you wake up with dry mouth, a CPAP machine can also help with that. Having a dry mouth causes all sorts of other crap as well. It makes it easier to get sick, and can cause issues with your teeth as well.

j45 2y ago
Humidifier and air filter is huge for sleep. So is dropping your bedroom temperature. Our bodies drop temperature before sleep to signal sleep as well, and the timing of that seems to be important to consider when sleeping.
- colechristensen 2y ago
  >Our bodies drop temperature before sleep to signal sleep as well, and the timing of that seems to be important to consider when sleeping. I find this so annoying because I notice. Oh shit I'm cold, it's that time of night my body temperature is dropping and I'm definitely not going to be in bed in the next 15 minutes. And then I'm awake for the next 5 hours and have terrible sleep because I missed my window.
fouc 2y ago
Waking up with a dry mouth in the morning can happen from drinking too much water per day without sufficient electrolytes (i.e. more than 5 liters of water a day)
nixnixers 2y ago
After the recent CPAP recall, and keeping in mind that many problems don't result in a proper recall, I would suggest avoiding a CPAP if your reasons are trivial.
- bhhaskin 2y ago
  You can't get a CPAP without a prescription (at least in the US).

grubbs 2y ago

Bleh. I did exactly this and got a CPAP. I just can't fall asleep with it. I've heard of possible surgery. Or that implantable device. Maybe I'll look into those.

peeters 2y ago
I recently started using CPAP and one thing I noticed in the sleep study, besides all the other reasons it was hard to fall asleep, was that when they were doing the titration test to find the best initial pressure, they set it very low and then let it climb up once I stopped breathing at that setting. The problem was, I actually found it difficult enough to breathe through my nose at that pressure that I would just keep myself awake because I couldn't relax with the mask on. It was kind of horrible and my technician didn't change it for hours. Eventually I started just intentionally snoring while awake to try to get her increase the pressure. No idea if she did but eventually exhaustion won out after around 4 hours. So just a thought, but if you're using an autoset machine (APAP) maybe discuss with your doctor and make sure the initial pressure is high enough that you're able to breath comfortably through your nose when fully relaxed. And also, you can experiment with different mask types depending on your sleep position.
- taylodl 2y ago
  My machine has user comfort settings. One of those is to adjust the ramp-up time. I set mine to zero - GIVE ME MY AIR!!! After that change I was able to easily fall asleep. It was difficult prior to that. I can also adjust the humidity setting. I had to increase it a notch because I woke up in the morning with my nose running and sore - which means I was dehydrated (yeah, that wasn't how I interpreted that symptom). After those two changes I was able to fall asleep quickly and not wake up with a sore and runny nose.
  - terminatornet 2y ago
    Had the exact same experience. I hated my CPAP at first, then after a couple weeks of pressure adjustments with my sleep doc, it was damn near perfect. Can't sleep without it now.

j45 2y ago

The strange things is why has there been a huge change in so many people being diagnosed to get cpaps? I had a snoring problem, I was asked to take the test and failed it, no cpap. Turns out I may have just been not sleeping enough. might have a physical issue with my nose like I mentioned to everyone.

jermaustin1 2y ago
Conspiracy Theory backed up by almost no proof: CPAPs MAY soon not be regulated as a medical device, so CPAP companies are partnering and opening more sleep centers and pushing for more sleep studies so they can get their ($800-2000) for what is basically a fan that blows a low pressure stream of air into your nose/mouth. I have a CPAP, I've not noticed anything better about my quality of sleep, or the soundness of my sleep. The only thing it has prevented is my snoring. My sleep studies (did 2 of them - one didn't record my blood oxygen) showed I get ~10 (8 on first, 11 on second) apnea events a night. I still do (according to CPAP) (1.12/hr on average). As a comparison, my wife gets 3/hr now, and her sleep study showed she had over 200 events per night. She LOVES her CPAP.
- j45 2y ago
  Interesting. Maybe it's not just about not being a regulated medical device, but who pays for it (insurance). So maybe the conspiracy that's tru is the payers can be expected to not want to have to pay so much, or so often. I'm very happy for who CPAP works for. I have lots of friends who's quality of life it improves. Had a doctor friend even recommend it to me. I took the CPAP test from a said sleep centre as referred by my doctor just to be present. Wore the machine 3 times. The folks who in my life swore I had some issues with sleep (including my partner), including loud inter floor snoring, oddly reduced or resolved themselves to some degree as soon as I started paying attention to my sleep and body. Snoring it turns out can also be a magnified by being over tired. I just wasn't sleeping enough, and while I felt sharp enough to work and live, my body needed a breather when there hadn't been a vacation for a few years. A few days off here and there yes, but sometimes that's not enough.
- sliken 2y ago

nemo44x 2y ago

CPAP machines are pretty incredible. Sleep Apnea also destroys your lungs and puts you at much higher risk of a variety of lung diseases over time. Your heart, lungs, mouth, and significant other will thank you.

ineedaj0b 2y ago

i know this might be a personal question, but are you overweight?

_nalply 2y ago
In the article it has been mentioned that obesity is not a risk factor for sleep apnea.
- ineedaj0b 2y ago
  not my experience in clinic
- Jensson 2y ago
  You can be overweight without being obese.

samatman 2y ago

As a first-line treatment, I urge anyone who either snores, or is just fatigued after sleep, to try a nasal stent/dilator. This isn't the strips which go on the outside of the nose, although those work for some people, they're less effective. I use the Rhinomed, but there's several brands, that's just the first one I got, and if you drop them in a small bowl of water in the morning and rinse them off a few hours later, they'll last forever. It's just a little piece of medical-grade plastic which you stick in both nostrils, and it props them open. Some people are are going to need a CPAP, but trying the nasal stent doesn't take a sleep study, insurance, or a machine which you plug in and maintain: it takes twenty bucks. Probably don't jump straight in to using it every night, it takes the nostrils awhile to get used to them, but I have no discomfort at all starting around the second week of using them. I would even go so far as to say everyone should just pick them up and try them out. One benefit that never occurred to me is that when I have mild congestion, the mechanical action of the stent will drain it, and no one sleeps well with a stuffy nose. Getting more oxygen per breath while sleeping has no downsides, even if you think you don't need it. If you ever wake up with one sinus filled with mucus, definitely give it a try.

okramcivokram 2y ago
I don't understand how these types of devices are supposed to help, as it's not my nostrils that get blocked, but the far back of my throat.
- samatman 2y ago
  They mechanically open the nostril, which resists sinus closure, and that has knock-on effects for the rest of the respiratory tract. Nostrils basically don't block unless you stick something in them, but sinuses do, and opening the nostril helps directly with that. As a sinus starts to fill or close, it gets harder to pull air through the nostril, and noses are pretty flexible, so the passage narrows, which further narrows the sinus. Eventually you have a blockage, and start mouth breathing, and that's what triggers the blockage you're referring to. Sinuses serve an important purpose in humidifying air, which is important for the proper function of tonsils, especially the adenoid: adenoidal swelling is the major cause of apnea, and dry air from mouth breathing can easily trigger it. It doesn't work for everyone, and some people are just going to need a CPAP. But it's a no-commitment intervention of negligent cost, and if it works, that's a much better outcome than needing a CPAP and everything which comes with it. But there are actual, demonstrable reasons why it can serve as an alternative to the CPAP for some number of people, it isn't just woo. I hope I've done a good job of explaining why that is.

slowmovintarget 2y ago

Out of curiosity, how much of what a CPAP addresses could also be addressed with weight loss and increased fitness levels? (I have many similar issues to the symptoms you describe, but I know they're all essentially attributable to my personal fitness level.)