I recently got a smart watch that basically told me that I don’t do a lot of deep sleep (1%) and the rest is light sleep, I also snore quite a bit my gf says and thought maybe getting a CPAP might help recovery I mainly get about 7 hours a night but I think sleep may be a factor holding me back.
I’ve seen many stories about people online using a CPAP and saying they feel amazingly well rested, can anyone else testify who have used it?, I’ll be hitting some quite intense training so I will need to get a grasp on sleep (Doggcrapp Training, Running + Boxing on off days and doing nothing on a sunday) so you can imagine I need to do everything to recover.
CPAP changed my life. I ended up losing about 70 lbs and have kept it after using it. I no longer needed it after losing about 50lbs. Definitely recommend it.
Edit: I had a sleep study done and was waking up about 19 times an hour snoring or gasping for air. There are people who wake up a lot more than that. I had the sleep study down because my wife recorded me stopping breathing and then gasping after about 30 seconds. Freaked me out.
Sounds good, I’m around 190 and 5ft 8 I didn’t really want it for fat loss but more for training recovery but if it helped you that much I think it may be a tool for the arsenal.
My husband did the sleep study and stopped breathing 10 times an hour but they told him this wasn’t enough to qualify for a CPAP. Can no longer get them around here without Rx.
A few of my lifting buddies that are bigger dudes just bought their machines used, and got new masks and what not for them. It was cheaper than using insurance for them.
I just did a sleep study. Supposedly I stopped breathing 90 times an hour. Doc told me I was the gold standard for needing one. Anyway my cpap arrives in a week. I will let you know if you ping me how it goes. I get 8 hours sleep a night but somehow always tired.
@mnben87 did they blame the need on lifting and mass? I was told it had to due with my thick neck size.
Yes. The two guys who did it were over 300 lbs and fairly muscular for that weight (both compete in strongman). I think at a certain point the chances you need one are a lot larger than not.
I’ve heard the same thing about the neck thickness. Probably true.
I don’t think I could do a sleep study, unless they sedated me. I already have a tough time falling asleep.
Sedating someone with sleep apnea is risky, they fall asleep and stay there but are apneic for longer periods. I learned that the hard way by giving my husband 100mg of trazadone on top of NyQuil. He slept all night and woke up with a blazing headache, probably from hypoxia.
Even a lower number of apneic periods per hour is cumulative in terms of cardiac damage over time.
All I am saying is that I don’t think I could be diagnosed with sleep apnea using a sleep study. The Dr. would just have to take my word on it, as I am almost sure I could not fall asleep with a person watching me, and leads hooked up.
Perhaps I would just have to stay up a few nights before the sleep study.
CPAP is a medical device, and there are potentially serious consequences to using it incorrectly or injudiciously. It is not something to pick up for yourself because you’re planning to start exercising more intensely and think you’ll need more sleep.
Further, there are a number of variables that have to be set. You going to do CPAP? Why not APAP or Bi-PAP? What pressures setting are you going to use, and how will you titrate them? Which delivery device is most appropriate for you: Full mask, nasal mask, or nasal pillows?
Like I said: If you think you have OSA–BTW, there are myriad screening checklists to be found online that can help you decide–ask your provider to arrange a sleep study. Don’t just pick one up like it’s something sold by the My Pillow guy.
An old friend of mine died in his sleep after getting injured and prescribed oxycontin. Took one before bed so he could sleep without pain, but combined with his apnea-just stopped breathing and never started again.
My wife complained to me for years about my snoring at night and that i would wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air or I would stop breathing for a few seconds altogether. I would also fall asleep during the day especially if I was in a meeting. Also my 30 minute drive home from work was an adventure itself trying to stay awake. I was in denial because i didnt think I fit the profile. Weight is not an issue unless you call having a struggle to keep it on a problem. I’m 5’6’ , 165 pounds and have trained for years.
Finally i had a sleep study done I was waking about 95 times a hour and never getting that deep sleep that we need.
I got a CPAP and after a rough period of adjustment (I struggled sleeping with the mask) I now sleep much better and am not as tired during the day. I believe it has really helped me.
If you’re going to have a sleep study done, then be sure to see someone who specialized in sleep apnea and snoring. My Dr had me do an at home sleep study and I had mulitple wakings at night and no real REM sleep. Instead of CPAP, I had sinus surgery done including balloon sinuplasty, uvulaplasty, stiffening of the soft palette and a deviated septum corrected. It changed my life. I still snore somewhat but I’m sleeping again and I can BREATHE out of my left side for the first time in years.
Don’t just jump on the CPAP train, there are other options which dont include sleeping like Darth Vader.
I was diagnosed about a month ago with sleep apnea. They have a sleep test that you take at home; it’s a bit weird since you’re wired up everywhere, but preferable to sleeping in a lab. I got the CPAP and tried the “nasal pillow” mask because I have a full beard; it’s basically a squishy cup you put over your nostrils. You have to spend some time adjusting to the mask: wear it while watching tv a few days, try it with a nap, etc.
It’s hit or miss with me, but it might be the mask style. There are nights where I sleep through the night with no issues and wake up actually refreshed. Other nights I will wake up multiple times in the night feeling like I can’t breathe through my nose with the air on full blast. The CPAP company suggested I trim the beard and try the full mask. That may fix things because my nose almost always feels clogged up. I will try the full mask after New Year’s.
This sounds almost exactly like what happened to me. I was in denial. The adjustment period took a few weeks; at first it felt like I was drowning in air.
Once I forgot it on a 10-day business trip halfway around the world, after about a year of daily use. I felt like shit after the first night without it, and I felt slightly worse each successive day until I arrived back home and slept for 12 hours straight with my CPAP.
I bought a backup battery for power outages as well. I will never go without it again. I don’t know how I functioned without it.