Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders today, and the frustrating part about sleep apnea is that sufferers typically don’t even realize that they have sleep apnea at all! Because it only occurs while the person is sleeping, it’s impossible to know that the body stops breathing and it’s impossible to determine (without help from a professional sleep lab) just how severe the apneas are and how often they’re occurring.
Luckily, there are solutions around which can provide relief for this common disorder. Sleep apnea masks, also known as CPAP masks, are some of the best products available for anyone who suffers from sleep apnea.
CPAP masks work by pushing a constant stream of air through the person’s air passages, which ensures that the body does not stop breathing while asleep (and it consequently ensures that the person don’t jolt awake when breathing commences again). The most common type of CPAP mask fits over the person’s nose and mouth and it’s hooked up to a CPAP machine, which runs throughout the night and pushes air gently through a tube.
CPAP nasal pillows are another option for people who feel too restricted by a full CPAP mask. Nasal pillows look very much like oxygen tubes and they fit snugly into the person’s nasal passages; the tubes are then hooked up to a CPAP machines, just a regular mask would be, and this machine pushes air through.
Many patients admit that CPAP machines are a bit weird at first — it does take some time to get used to sleeping with the mask and the machine, but it’s definitely something that’s worth it. The majority of patients end up seeing the benefits of a CPAP machine almost immediately, because it’s the first time in a long time that they’ve been able to sleep through the night!
If you think that you may be suffering from sleep apnea, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor about looking for a solution.