Do you really need to know about the CPAP benefits, if all you want is to have a good night's sleep?
Well, if you have sleep apnea and your treatment is CPAP, then is very important to know the benefits of your CPAP machine.
For many patients with sleep apnea, CPAP is considered a burden, only to weak up refreshed in the morning and go to job or school, or whatever. They have a lot of
CPAP problems
and they may want to quit their treatment and search for alternatives.
But we know too well that quitting CPAP therapy is not a good idea. Knowing the CPAP benefits will not only improve the CPAP adherence, but will also make you love your machine.
If you want a scientific approach to describe the CPAP benefits, please view this clip. But I don't promise you will stay awake till the end:)
Many sleep apnea patients feel the benefits of CPAP when they go for a sleep study. The majority of patients have no problem wearing the CPAP mask and report that their night in the laboratory was the best night's sleep they've had in years.
Others find it difficult at first to breathe out against a constant stream of air and to sleep with their mouth closed, but they usually get used to it with time.
Continuous positive airway pressure generally leads to a great improvement in the amount of time spent in restorative deep sleep, which in turn leads to improvement alertness the next day.
In many cases, CPAP also reduces or eliminates hypertension.
Other patients with sleep apnea realize the CPAP benefits only after they give up their CPAP therapy. Without a tretment, the
side effects of sleep apnea
can worsen in time and can become quite dangerous for your life.
The consequences of untreated sleep apnea are many and vary from sleepiness throughout the day, preventing daytime functioning, to an increased incidence of cardiovascular conditions such as:
hypertension (up to 90% of sleep apnea patients have hypertension)
myocardial infarction
cerebrovascular accident - stroke
In general, the appropriate use of CPAP therapy will improve sleep quality and lead to a decrease of
daytime sleepiness.
If you have complaints of morning headaches, most likely associated with changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels throughout the night, you may see improvements in the frequency and intensity of those headaches.
Did you noticed that you have problems with short-term memory, if you have an untreated sleep apnea? Well, as sleep quality improves with CPAP treatment, there may also be a concurrent improvement in daytime cognitive function and short-term memory.
Untreated sleep apnea is also associated with a nighttime increase in sympathetic activity of the nervous system, causing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases as well as cardiac arhythmias and an increase in the development of atherosclerosis.
However, if you use CPAP therapy to treat sleep apnea, you will soon see the CPAP benefits. Eliminating sleep problems with CPAP can result in decrease in nighttime and daytime blood pressure, and can be associated with the reduction or elimination of tachycardia, premature beats of the heart, and potential myocardial infarction.
Poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation have been associated with the development of insulin resistance in normal volunteers. Sleep apnea patinets are at high risk of the development of insulin resistance, and those patients who have
diabetes
may find the condition difficult to control until sleep apnea is treated.
CPAP can be very helpful in this situation.
Patients with GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) can also feel the CPAP benefits, because GERD has been associated with sleep apnea and is likely due to the increased negative intrathoracic pressures generated by breathing against a closed airway.
Another important CPAP benefit is that the improvement of sleep quality will likely lead to an increase in the deeper stages of sleep and promote the secretion of anti-diuretic hormone essential for the control of nighttime fluid production.
The improved sleep quality is also associated with improvement in mood, decreases in depressive symptoms, and improved psychosocial relationships both at work and at home.
