Managing Insomnia With Sleep Apnea

Having sleep apnea is bad enough. Just trying to get those 4 hours in that are required can be a daunting task sometimes! Not to mention the entire 7 1/2 hours for the full benefits from using the CPAP machine.

So... how do you do that if you have insomnia on top of sleep apnea?

Oh, those nights – sometimes they last nights on end, right??!! No matter what you do, you can't go to sleep. And if you do happen to fall asleep, it's just for a short time. Usually, it’s not very restful. And for me, that makes the insomnia even more difficult to deal with!

No stranger to insomnia

I have dealt with insomnia for as long as I can remember. As children in my family, we were not allowed to get out of bed at night (except to go to the bathroom). I remember lying in bed and actually crying, waiting for that long night to be over, feeling trapped in some type of horrific nightmare! 

As an adult, I have cried for the same reason. Along with the same trapped feelings and never-ending nightmare! But with the ability to move as I wanted.

Sleep apnea and insomnia nights

Well, what can I say that you probably don't already know? We all need a good night's sleep, but with sleep apnea, we don't always get a good night's sleep. Many of us use a CPAP machine to help us keep breathing during the night.

The blending of insomnia and sleep apnea is where it gets kind of tricky! For me, when the insomnia nights hit, I try and find something quiet to do so I can at least get some rest — over the years, that could look a little different.

Never-ending cycles of wakefulness

As an adult, I started off by staying up and watching TV but realized for me, that wasn't a good idea because I'm not one for falling asleep in front of a TV. So, if I ever got to the point where I was sleepy, I would push through and stay awake so I could finish watching the show. By the time the show was over, I would not be tired anymore. This turned into a never-ending cycle.

Before my sleep apnea was diagnosed, I would wake myself up from not being able to breathe, followed by being scared to go back to sleep in case I wouldn't wake up! This, too, turned into a never-ending cycle on those nights.

Many times, it was hard to tell when the apnea turned into insomnia. Or the insomnia turned into the apnea. Because for me, in the middle of the night, it's really hard to think straight when all that is going on. Everything gets confusing as the brain fog sets in.

Using my CPAP on insomnia nights

I have found that on the insomnia nights, I go ahead and go to bed, taking a tablet so I can play on the internet or play some of the games that I've downloaded. Or, I might read a book either on the tablet or a hard copy.

While lying there resting, I go ahead and put on my headgear for my CPAP machine. I turn it on and start breathing – just like I would any other night before going to sleep.

Now, I usually don't go to sleep, but I still get the benefit of using the CPAP for an entire 7 to 8 hours – with some sort of rest!!