My Tips for a Good Night's Sleep With CPAP

I personally have used a CPAP machine for a few years now.

But my husband (Jeff) has only had his for less than a year.

We have both noticed some things about the quality of rest that we get, and factors that influence it. The restorative, actual rest happens when we use our CPAPs for at least 6 to 8 hours at night. And it has to be an every night occurrence, not just an occasional thing.

Timing and consistency

First, we've found that the restorative, actual rest happens when we use our CPAPs for at least six to eight hours at night. And it has to be an every night occurrence, not just an occasional thing.

Most insurance companies recommend that you wear the CPAP for at least 4 hours each night, so that is often what is required before they will pay for the machine and the upkeep.

But four hours is not enough to get someone even close to the restorative sleep that we seek!

You know the kind of sleep where you wake up refreshed and ready to jump out of bed, versus the sleep where you drag yourself out of bed, wanting nothing more than just to go lay back down. It feels miserable.

Jeff and I have both noticed that poor sleep when using our CPAPs for just four hours or less. The brain fog sets in so bad that you just can't think straight. It doesn't matter how much coffee you drink!

The importance of oxygen

I'm not a doctor. But I do know that when we sleep, our bodies go through a whole lot of repairing and recharging. Many of us learned that in science class back in high school.

I also have a loved one who has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). This means they're not the getting oxygen that they need. And all that carbon dioxide just can't clean out by itself. I see how that affects them.

Again, I'm not a doctor -- I just know what I see and apply it to how it makes sense to me.

For those of us with sleep apnea, when we snore or stop breathing, we're not getting enough oxygen. It's not exactly the same, but it makes me think of the difficulties people face when they have COPD.

In both cases our bodies can't rest and repair without that proper air movement and breathing. Having the right mask style and fit for you and using your machine regularly help ensure you're breathing correctly.

Keeping clean

We have also noticed that it's much harder to use our CPAP machines for a full six to eight hours if the machines are not cleaned on a regular basis.

The best practice would be every day. But even once a week makes a major difference.

Think of it this way: Who doesn't like nice clean sheets to crawl into? Doesn't it feel like you can sleep better when everything is clean?

It may not seem like much, but there's a lot of gunk that builds up in a CPAP machine. Some of the dirt and bacteria are invisible to the naked eye. Just like the sheets on our bed, we might not be able to see a difference, but our body knows the difference between the clean and the dirty. All this can contribute to poor sleep and possibly infections.

Sneezing in the middle of the night

Speaking of gunk, my husband and I have both ended up sneezing in the middle of the night with our CPAP mask on. Sometimes we don't even realize we've done it, and we laugh about this.

But how many germs can we sneeze into that mask without even knowing it? The saliva and germs circulate around the mask and then back into the tank. Even though it's not meant to do that, we know it's not perfect.

Take good care of yourself

I'm not a doctor or anything, just someone who's been around for a long time. I've also had a lot of CPAP experience at this point. The experiences I've had and observations I've made have led to sleeping better at night, so I hope they help you.

What tips do you have for better sleep with CPAP? Let us know in the comments!