Are You New To Sleep Apnea Treatment?

How is Sleep Apnea Treated?

There are generally four common sleep apnea treatment options available to you that can assist in alleviating symptoms and restoring your healthy sleep routine.

We can discuss with you your best options for addressing your sleep concerns.

1. Positive airway pressure therapy
   
   1. CPAP
      A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (or CPAP) machine is a device that delivers a continual flow of air from a pump through a tube to a mask that you wear, to keep your airways open and fully oxygenated. This eliminates the need for your body to continually rouse throughout the night to restore normal breathing, allowing for a more restful sleep.
      
      CPAP is the most commonly prescribed option because it’s an effective and non-invasive treatment that produces successful results.
   2. APAP
      Similar to the above, an Automatic Positive Airway Pressure (or APAP) machine works in the same way, however automatically varies its air pressure throughout the night in response to a person’s needs, offering a more tailored treatment.
      
   3. Bilevel
      Bilevel therapy is typically used when someone needs a specific high pressure for effective treatment.
   4. Oral appliance therapy
      A Mandibular Repositioning Device (or MRD) is a non-invasive, custom-fitted mouthpiece that holds your jaw in a forward position while you sleep to expand the space behind your tongue. This helps keep your upper airway open, preventing the airways from becoming restricted. They’re proven effective for people with mild and moderate obstructive sleep apnea, who cannot tolerate CPAP.  
      
      
2. Surgery
   A far less common option, there are several surgical procedures that can improve the exact area of obstruction in your upper respiratory tracts, however, as with all invasive surgical procedures, there is the risk of negative side effects.  

1. Lifestyle changes
   Quitting smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol, and losing weight are all more general ways to treat sleep apnea by reducing the potential contributing causes. 
   
   For example, in some patients with milder forms of sleep apnea, losing weight can help decrease the fat deposits around the neck, thus reducing disruptive breathing throughout the night and alleviating the symptoms.

Sleep apnea treatment: feel like a new you!

Being diagnosed with sleep apnea and having to undergo treatment can be an overwhelming thought at first.

However, the benefits of reducing the symptoms will allow you to reclaim your quality of life and will quickly outweigh any negatives you may experience.

You’ll feel like a new you when your prescribed treatment option restores your healthy sleep patterns and you begin to rest well again each night.

Nevertheless, here are some ways to make your treatment much more manageable.

How to best manage your treatment

If you have a CPAP machine as a part of your Sleep Apnea therapy, both consistency and compliance of use are the two most important ways that you can maximise its efficacy to get a better night’s sleep.

Consistency comes from using the machine during every sleep as instructed, and compliance means using it as intended.

To help you get adjusted to this, here are a few tips.

• One step at a time
  
  Some people can find the CPAP machine’s mask intrusive or the hum difficult to ignore. So instead of immediately strapping it to your face and turning on the air on the first night, perhaps simply hold it to your face first and wait a few moments to become more comfortable.
  
  Next, turn on the pressurised airstream and slowly acclimatise yourself to that sensation and the noise too. After this, the next step is to finally strap the headgear on and see how you feel.
  
  The use of stages helps ease you into getting comfortable with the mask through a gradual introduction.
• Your CPAP mask
  
  Fitting your mask well is an important part of your treatment. Small adjustments can make all the difference to comfort and effectiveness, so ask your Sleep Professional to show you the best way to put on your mask. This way, you can fit it perfectly to the contours of your face, the way it is designed.
  Then practice at home before bed in front of a mirror to get a good seal and put you at ease. After all, you won’t be able to sleep if you’re uncomfortable.
• Involve your partner
  
  If you share a bed with a partner, it’s important to involve them. After all, you’ll be wearing a mask into bed and turning on a machine all night as you both sleep!
  
  Explain how the device works, and what it does for you. You may even have them help you with the mask when needed. This will put you both at ease and make the treatment become a natural routine.
• Maintain your good sleep hygiene
  
  This means that you should maintain healthy habits when it comes to sleeping, such as listening to your body’s internal clock to judge when you’re ready for sleep, and when you are not.
  
  In addition, have a good mattress and pillow to ensure you are comfortable, and don’t consume stimulants like coffee before bed, as they can make it difficult to fall asleep.
• Be relaxed before you go to bed
  
  It’s hard enough to go to sleep with a busy, racing or worried mind, let alone throwing in your therapy machine and mask. Instead, just before you head to bed, listen to some calming music, meditate, take a bath, or read a book.
  
  This will put you in the right state of mind, before equipping your machine and snuggling in.
• Use the automated settings on your CPAP machine
  
  Many CPAP devices now come equipped with a Sleep Onset Detection feature, where the machine will begin at a low pressure and won’t ramp up to the prescribed pressure until it detects that you have fallen asleep.
  
  This means that, while you are lying in bed with the headgear on, you won’t feel the full pressure of the air until after you have drifted off and are no longer actively aware when the oxygen increases. This can greatly ease the uncomfortable feeling while ensuring your treatment is effective.
• Listen to your breathing
  
  Once you have done all the above, and you are lying in bed, the last thing to do is do some breathing techniques. Take calm, slow breaths in and out, while actively concentrating on the gentle sound. After about ten repetitions, you will feel completely relaxed and should nod off to get the peaceful sleep you deserve.

How our Online Sleep Assessment can help you

If you are experiencing problems getting enough quality sleep and you believe it may be sleep apnea, you may wish to consider undertaking a free online sleep assessment to better understand how to improve your restful state and your overall health.

The assessment only takes 60 seconds and asks you a series of simple questions designed to help you uncover the cause, then conveniently sends the results to you via email.

You can access the Sleep Assessment here:

 References:

1. EdenSleep. What is sleep apnea? https://www.edensleep.co.nz/what-is-sleep-apnea. Accessed 6/1/2018
2. Meurice et al. ORCADES: A prospective cohort study of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients receiving second-line treatment with a mandibular repositioning device (MRD). Eur Resp J 2013;42(57):1056S.
3. EdenSleep. Can’t sleep or having trouble sleeping? https://www.edensleep.co.nz/trouble-sleeping. 6/1/2018.
   American Sleep Association.
4. http://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/treatment-options/surgery.html. Accessed 6/1/2018.
   ResMed. Sleep Apnea Treatment Options.
5. https://www.resmed.com/au/en/consumer/diagnosis-and-treatment/sleep-apnea/sleep-apnea-treatment/sleep-apnea-treatment-options.html. Accessed 6/1/2018.