Sleep apnea is a sleeping condition that may seem harmless at first but can actually be threatening later on. Since it can carry plenty of risks, it’s important to know what can prevent it and I’m here to help you out!
So, does CPAP prevent sleep apnea? Yes, CPAP can prevent sleep apnea. After all, its job is to apply positive air pressure in order to help the patient breathe properly and prevent sleep apnea attacks.
Sleep apnea is usually caused by an obstruction in the airways due to various reasons which make breathing difficult while we are asleep.
The muscles are supposed to be relaxing during our sleeping time but sleep apnea prevents that which makes it harder for us to cope with sleep apnea by ourselves.
Most of the time, sleep apnea does not go away by itself and usually requires treatment and surgeries to eliminate the condition permanently.
With the help of CPAP, sleep apnea patients are able to get the right amount of air since the mask connected to the machine sustains it. Getting the right amount of air will definitely prevent sleep apnea.
CPAP has been used for a while now and continuously improves the lives of sleep apnea patients. When you have sleep apnea, you will always wake up feeling tired but CPAP can prevent that as well.
When CPAP is continuously applied, it can lessen sleep apnea attacks and may eventually regulate the patient’s breathing and if the normal breathing becomes permanent, the sleep apnea may be eliminated.
According to observations, sleep apnea can cause pauses in breathing approximately 400 times a night but people who use CPAP tend to experience lesser attacks which is a great thing.
The pauses may last for two seconds up to two minutes in general which is already dangerous, so if you have sleep apnea or know someone who does, suggesting the CPAP treatment might help them prevent the illness.
What happens when CPAP prevents sleep apnea
There are actually a lot of things that you can avoid just by simply preventing sleep apnea with the help of the CPAP treatment.
Sleep apnea is recognized as an accompanying disease meaning it could’ve been caused by another disease or it may end up inviting another disease in our system.
So, what are the benefits or what happens if you use CPAP to prevent sleep apnea? Check out this list of risks that you can prevent.
- Lessen daytime sleepiness
- Sleep apnea can make it difficult to fall asleep at night. If you use CPAP, you may prevent this.
- Avoid morning headaches
- Sleep apnea also causes headaches. CPAP users report better mornings without headaches after using CPAP.
- Avoid heart failures
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
- Avoid heart attacks
- Can also be severely threatening
- Stop irregular heartbeats
- Worsens the ability to breathe
- Can trigger anxiety
- Prevent stroke
- Can leave permanent damage
- May lead to paralysis
- Avoid depression
- Not an easy condition to treat
- Avoiding the risk of diabetes
- Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
- Avoiding high blood pressure
- Aside from your physical health, this can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work. CPAP treatment can prevent this.
- Avoid worsening ADHD
- Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus which is what happens when you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Having a lack of control to focus can lead to frustration
- Wake up with full energy
- As mentioned, your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well.
- Avoiding the risk of seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
The thing is, sleep apnea, if left untreated or worsened by other factors, can lead to death. Its risks can be fatal and leave permanent damage or severe pain which can be prevented and made better by CPAP.
See all these risks? CPAP treatment can save you from danger by preventing these things. It’s better than nothing!
How CPAP was invented to prevent sleep apnea
Thanks to technology, medicine and another form of treatments are now possible which has continued to make countless lives better and save them from deadly conditions.
CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” was invented solely for the purpose of bettering sleep apnea conditions. It was made by a man named Dr. Colin Sullivan, he began testing it back in 1980.
Way back 1950, studies about sleep and conditions related it has been one of the main focuses of the time and sleep apnea is one of those conditions that does not have a clear solution just yet.
It was only until today when another form of treatments aside from CPAP was invented which involves surgeries and bone reconstruction.
During its testing period, CPAP was not immediately accepted by many people since it requires users to use a mask attached to a machine, making movement limited during sleep.
However, Dr. Sullivan, who has been trying to develop the CPAP treatment for almost his entire life said that the patients should think of CPAP similar to reading glasses, it can be a nuisance, but you need them.
That is how people with sleep apnea began to continue testing the CPAP treatment with Dr. Sullivan and eventually, it became a successful treatment despite the “inconvenience of limited movement” during sleep.
What can you do if CPAP does not prevent sleep apnea for you
Admittedly, not every person with sleep apnea can be treated with CPAP. Sleep apnea can be caused by different conditions and thus can be treated by different ways as well.
CPAP will also stop sleep apnea each night but if the person wants to stop using it permanently but also get rid of sleep apnea, there are other options that they can look into. Check this list of treatments.
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Over time, parents can adjust the brace using a special key to increase the amount of pressure for the teeth.
- Snoring may be rare for children, which is why if they do snore, then it may be a clear sign of sleep apnea.
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- It might take months to recover.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the 2nd example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
There are also other ways to prevent sleep apnea and we suggest to see a medical health expert in order to determine which procedure might be the best solution for you.
When do you need CPAP to prevent sleep apnea?
Now, when exactly do you need to use CPAP? After all, the costs may be expensive depending on where you live. If you’re not ready to be diagnosed by a doctor, you can look out for the symptoms on your own.
- When you snore heavily
- Maybe, it can be a sign of fatigue but snoring loudly and usually can be a sign of sleep apnea.
- Gasping for air during sleep
- The feeling of drowning without knowing it and suddenly you’re out of air.
- If you have insomnia
- Having trouble going to sleep because you have breathing problems that you may not notice
- If you experience hypersomnia
- Having trouble staying awake in the morning because you were unable to sleep well due to your sleep apnea
- Waking up with a headache
- Sleep apnea can disturb your body’s “charging” state. Since you can’t sleep well, your body will use energy for means that can help you breathe which may lead to headaches.
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- With sleep apnea, the person tends to snore and keep their mouth open when gasping for air which leads to a dried up mouth once we awaken.
- Decreased ability to focus
- Sleep apnea can give lack of sleep which will also result in difficulty to focus on anything
- Feeling uncomfortable
- Your lack of energy due to sleep apnea can make you feel uncomfortable and irritable without your knowledge
- Suddenly stop breathing during sleep
- Your housemates should notice this and tell you about it. Sleep apnea can disrupt breathing that may last for up to 10 seconds which is already risky.
If you live alone or don’t have any means to check the symptoms by yourself, there are sleep centers that conduct “sleep studies” where you will stay for several nights where doctors and nurses will observe you.
They will be checking for symptoms of sleep apnea and from then on, they may recommend to use the CPAP treatment during one night to see the difference.
If CPAP makes you feel better, you might be positive with sleep apnea.
Related Questions
- Does sleep apnea shorten life span?
Yes, according to study, sleep apnea can potentially shorten lifespan or better yet, untreated sleep apnea with its accompanying illnesses can shorten life span.
- Can you treat sleep apnea without CPAP?
Yes, there are plenty of other ways to treat sleep apnea without relying on CPAP. CPAP treats the symptoms but does not completely cure the condition.
Many treatments for sleep apnea involve surgeries and bone reconstruction or “replacement” that will fix the obstruction in the airways to prevent difficulty in breathing.
