Living with Sleep Apnea
Did you know? Approximately one billion of the worlds population suffer from sleep apnea (Lyons, 2020).
What is it?
Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder in which you stop breathing while you’re sleeping. It is usually characterized with daytime sleepiness, difficulty paying attention and most commonly, snoring (Cleveland Clinic, 2020).
Here is a closer look at what actually happens to your airway when you have sleep apnea
So you have sleep apnea: Do you REALLY have to wear CPAP?
See what Shaq has to say about it!
What is CPAP anyway?
CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. It is a medical device that pushes air into your lungs via a mask. This is worn during sleep when the apnea occurs. With compliance, CPAP can greatly reduce sleep apnea symptoms.
An image demonstrating the splinting of the airway with CPAP usage
Research Says…
Respiratory Care Volume 63, Issue 10, published an article titled “Effects of CPAP Compliance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients at Victory Health Partners”. The most common issue with CPAP therapy is patient compliance. The main purpose of this publication was to test if CPAP compliance would help alleviate the clinical symptoms of OSA. They did this by surveying a certain number of people with OSA who then used their CPAP. The conclusion being, with CPAP compliance, symptoms were significantly reduced. Those symptoms included snoring, apnea, fatigue, and daytime tiredness.
Resources
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8718-sleep-apnea
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/sleep-apnea
https://www.massgeneral.org/condition/sleep-apnea#overview
Hello,
I think you did an excellent job with the intrigue for this topic choice. I feel as though the question you efficiently presented in bold questioning if you really need to wear a sleep cpap, really captures the essence of this “fact versus fiction” assignment. I also have learned from this statement that although it’s not necessarily required it will absolutely show increased improvement among the symptoms associated with sleep apnea. Thank you for the informative knowledge!
Lizzie