Adjusting to Life With a CPAP Machine

Adjusting to life with a CPAP machine isn’t always easy. While continuous positive airway pressure therapy is the gold standard for sleep apnea treatment, there’s a transition period before you find comfort.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be more than a poor night’s sleep. It boosts your blood pressure while raising your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and more.

The gold standard for OSA treatment is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which keeps your nighttime airways open and unobstructed to allow your body to regenerate through a healthful sleep cycle.

Dr. Andrew Freedman, pulmonologist and CPAP specialist of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group, LLC in Monroe, New Jersey, knows adjusting to CPAP life isn’t always easy. The key is equal parts persistence and insider information.

To give you a better chance to transition successfully to life with a CPAP machine, we’ve prepared this month’s blog to demystify the treatment and provide some hints and strategies to avoid the common sticking points that CPAP patients encounter.

The CPAP machine

A CPAP machine delivers a gentle airflow through your nose or both nose and mouth to keep your airways from collapsing as you sleep. This system includes a compressor with a filter, an adjustable mask, and a tube to connect the two.

Depending on the manufacturer, there are many styles and features, but each design delivers the positive air pressure that counteracts the effects of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when tissue relaxes as you sleep, blocking airways at the back of the mouth and top of the throat.

Adjusting to life with a CPAP machine

Adapting to sleeping with a CPAP mask on your face takes up to five months to become habitual. Perhaps the most important way to prepare for the transition is understanding that it’s a process. Few people begin to use the CPAP apparatus full-time at the start of treatment.

Chances of success skyrocket if you consider these five tips for your adjustment strategy:

1. Choose the right mask

A comfortable mask is key to your success. It should accommodate your facial features and sleeping style. Even the best-fitting mask takes time to get used to.

2. Learn your machine’s settings

Your CPAP machine may have features like humidity or warming; understand how and why to use these settings to improve comfort.

3. Set realistic goals toward full use

You probably won’t wear your mask for a whole night for some time, so it’s important to know that even an hour of sleep with your CPAP system is an improvement in no time. We work with you to develop stepping-stone goals toward all-night usage.

4. Follow daily and weekly maintenance practices

Maintenance practices keep your equipment safe and in shape. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, which typically include daily wipe-downs of your mask and weekly deep cleaning of the mask, tubing, and humidifier. Filters need regular cleaning and/or replacement too.

5. Track your progress

Data tracking apps help you understand how your transition progresses, providing scores, reports, insight, and motivation as you adapt to your new equipment. You may also be able to share data with other apps or health monitoring wearables for a more complete picture of your health.

There’s plenty to learn about CPAP technology; you gain the rewards when your sleep cycle becomes restful and consistent. Contact Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Group online or by phone to schedule an appointment today.