Fatigue and tiredness are more than just inconveniences. If you’re not getting the rest that you need, both your health and your safety can be compromised. Extreme fatigue can make daily tasks difficult, and you can even be putting yourself and others at risk if you get behind the wheel when you haven’t had enough rest. For sufferers of sleep apnea, fatigue can feel unavoidable, but with sleep study at home, diagnosis, and the use of a CPAP machine, you can treat your apnea and ensure that you and your driver’s license are safe.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is relatively common in the adult population, and it can even affect children. A sufferer of the condition will experience momentary pauses of breathing in their sleep. These can happen multiple times throughout every hour, sometimes up to 30 times. The problem is not so much that breathing stops because this triggers a response to open the airways and catch breath. Instead, the biggest problem of apnea is that these interruptions to breathing will cause periods of near-wakefulness.

In your own situation, you might not notice that you are waking up multiple times during the night, but you will feel it in the way that you are fatigued and sleepy throughout the day. This can impair your cognitive ability, making it hard to focus and remain engaged with tasks or conversations. Fatigue can cause you to nod off during the day, which is why sleep apnea and driving are a dangerous combination.

If you have apnea or even if you suspect it, then an at-home sleep test will be necessary to fully diagnose the condition.

Sleep Testing to Diagnose Apnea

A sleeping test is the most effective way to diagnose apnea, and it’s even possible to have one performed at home. During this test, sensors will be placed on your body to detect oxygen saturation and pulse, and even your brain activity. An at home sleep test doesn’t just diagnose sleep apnea, but it can also tell you about the quality of your sleep.

Home tests performed with systems developed here at VirtuOx are able to provide all of the essential data that can be interpreted by a physician for use in your diagnosis.

The Dangers of Fatigue When Driving

We’re taught from quite a young age that driving while intoxicated is highly dangerous. This is true, and drink driving is a leading cause of accidents and death in almost every developed country. However, just as inebriation can affect your driving, fatigued driving can be just as dangerous.

Let’s take a look at some of the risks when you haven’t had enough quality sleep:

• Your reaction times will be reduced, making it harder to respond to incidents and threats on the road.
• Your judgment can be impaired, and fatigue can also cause blurred vision.
• When you’re tired, it becomes harder to process information, so decisions won’t come as quickly as they usually do.
• You may miss potential hazards when you drive in a fatigued state.
• Your mood can be impacted by fatigue so you may be more prone to aggressive driving and even episodes of road rage.

In some cases, causing an accident without enough rest could expose you to criminal charges. It is becoming more common for states and local jurisdictions to look at fatigue-impaired driving as seriously as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If you want to be safe and also protect your license and right to drive, then you might need to start using a CPAP machine to treat your sleep apnea.

How Can a CPAP Machine Help to Treat Sleep Apnea?

After being diagnosed through home sleep testing, CPAP treatment will be one of your options. A CPAP machine is designed to assist in breathing and can help you to get restful sleep that eliminates daily fatigue.

A CPAP uses either a full facial mask or a nose mask to deliver pressurized oxygen into your airways. This allows the airwaves to remain open throughout the night, avoiding the collapse and blockage that is associated with apnea. While it might take a few days to get used to using a CPAP machine, the difference in the quality of life will be noticeable in a short amount of time, sometimes as soon as the first night that you use one. You’ll be less fatigued during the day, and you’ll enjoy a fuller night of sleep. A physician can work with you to ensure that you get the most comfortable mask for your needs.

Combining a diagnosis through home sleep testing, and treatment with a CPAP mask will ensure that you are protected from apnea related health conditions, and you’ll be confident that you are alert and rested any time that you get behind the wheel.