Sleep apnea is a serious sleeping disorder that affects many people and usually goes undiagnosed. Sleep apnea is when people stop breathing in their sleep for a few seconds to a few minutes and resume breathing with a loud snort. The disorder pulls people out of deep sleep and causes them to have excessive daytime sleepiness. The disorder will often result in adverse health effects that can affect a person’s quality of life.

What Can Help?

There are tools available to help people determine if they have sleep apnea or not like an oximetry test which can help to find if they suffer from the sleeping disorder. Other tools involve aiding someone to breathe throughout the night if they suffer from sleep apnea. The two most common tools are the CPAP and APAP, or better known as the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and the Auto Positive Airway Pressure.

These two devices are often mixed up and not everyone is the familiar with the differences between them. These devices are often not the perfect remedy, but they do offer a way for people who suffer from sleep apnea to at least get more restful sleep throughout the night.

What is the CPAP?

CPAP is short for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure with the goal of the device to reach an optimal pressure when patients are sleeping on their back. When they reach the stage of REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) the jaw and tongue can relax in such a way that they obstruct the airway.

The CPAP delivers enough air pressure to keep the airway open so the patient is able to still breath properly without interruption. During the REM stage of sleep, muscle tone can become flaccid which can also occur in other sleep stages. The main issue with using these machines is the only goal is to maintain an optimal pressure at all times. This can result in the patient receiving a higher air pressure than necessary to keep the airway open regardless if it’s needed or not.

What is the APAP?

APAP stands for Positive Airway Pressure and is similar to the CPAP with a few noticeable differences. The oximetry test can help to confirm a diagnosis of someone who suffers from sleep apnea but is not the last answer to aiding in treating the sleep disorder.

APAP can be set to a range of pressures and the machine monitors the breathing of the patient while using algorithms to decrease or increase the pressure as needed while the patient is sleeping. This helps to keep the airway open by keeping things at an optimal air pressure and adjusting it accordingly throughout the night. This helps patients to sleep more comfortably throughout the night and in the process be able to get more meaningful rest.

What Does This Mean for People Who Suffer From Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that can affect a person’s everyday quality of life that can lead to symptoms like excessive daytime sleepiness, mood swings, poor memory, irritability, and others. People who suffer from these symptoms should consider taking an overnight oximetry test to determine if they suffer from the sleeping disorder.

Scheduling a regular doctor’s visit will not help to determine if a patient suffers from sleep apnea. There is no blood test that exists to diagnose whether a patient is a sufferer of the sleeping disorder. The only other course of action to find out if they suffer from the sleeping disorder or not is to have a sleep study test done in a sleep lab, but this can be inconvenient.

The overnight oximetry test is done in the comfort of the home and is the best way to replicate the sleeping conditions. The patient will be more relaxed and will have a more accurate diagnosis if they take the test at home instead of going to a sleep study lab.

VirtuOx is the leader in home sleep tests and pulse oximetry.