3 Tips for Sleepers Who Move Throughout the Night

Sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome make sleeping hard to where it feels almost impossible sometimes. Even with those 3 issues, my biggest challenge with using my CPAP machine is waking up in the middle of the night because the machine has slammed on the ground or I notice the tubing around my neck.

My CPAP wakes me up

This is the worst because it’s almost impossible to get back to sleep again once I wake up. The most frustrating thing is when you finally get comfortable and fall asleep after 45 minutes only to then awaken to hear the CPAP hitting the ground.

Have you woken up with your CPAP tubing wrapped around your neck?

Tips for CPAP users who move at night

I can’t count how many times while sleeping I’ve pulled the machine off the dresser or turned over and have pulled the machine in the bed by the tubing somehow.

I have 3 tips that I’ve found to help lessen the loud crash of CPAP hitting the floor at night.

1. Add grip to your nightstand

The top of my nightstand is slick, which makes it super easy to pull the CPAP off when I turn side to side. I went to our Dollar Store and purchased some non-adhesive shelf liner that is textured and covered the top of my dresser with it.

After adding the shelf liner, my machine didn’t slide off as easily. Here is a picture of what it looked like after I covered it.

2. Close the gap between your nightstand and bed

While that helped with the machine coming off the dresser, I was still managing to get my neck wrapped in the tubing during the night. My husband would wake up during the night and remove the tubing from around my neck.

Secondly, I repositioned the nightstand that my CPAP sits on. It was about 2 to 3 feet away from the bed. I pushed the nightstand over as close to my bed as I could to close the gap with my bed. I realized that when I scooted it right next to my bed, I didn’t have it falling or the floor.

A few nights, I woke up with the CPAP in bed with me, but if the water tank didn’t flip upside down, I could sleep through and not worry about breaking my sleep or the CPAP.

3. Use a shorter tube

This last step also helped with the cord wrapping around my neck and the machine crashing to the ground: I got rid of the 6-foot tubing and ordered a 3-foot hose.

With my CPAP being so close to the bed now, I no longer needed the 6-foot tubing. The 3-foot tubing has been better. The only drawback is that instead of wrapping the tubbing around my neck if I move too much, the entire machine comes with it.

Keeping my CPAP off the ground helps me sleep through the night

Keeping my CPAP intact and off the ground is one small step in making it easier to use and sleep throughout the night. A dollar roll of shelf liner, moving the dresser, and a shorter hose have helped make it more bearable to sleep during the night.

If this doesn’t work, I also ordered a CPAP shelf that goes under the mattress and holds the CPAP in place with 2 straps.

What is your biggest issue with your CPAP at night? Comment down below!