Okay, so you have trouble staying asleep throughout the night. Your partner is constantly waking you up, telling you to fix your pillow or readjust yourself so that you do not wake them up because of your loud snoring. You feel as if you are not getting enough rest at night because you are so exhausted throughout the day, and cannot seem to concentrate on the work that you are doing. You have finally had enough, and talk to your doctor about your symptoms. You undergo a sleep study, and are diagnosed with sleep apnea.

You come into an office and get set up on a brand new CPAP machine. You are excited to get a full nights sleep, wake up with more energy for the upcoming day, and – let’s not forget – not interrupt your partner in the middle of the night. You set up your machine just like you are shown, put your mask on, and lay down in your bed expecting to fall asleep instantly. However, you seem to be having some trouble. You try to recall everything your technician explained to you at the time of setup, so that you can mimic his actions but something seems off. Your mask does not feel comfortable, and you know that you are not going to be able to use this mask and machine for a whole hour straight, let alone the entire night. It looks like you are still in trouble.

This happens more often than you think, so if you are one of those people who are struggling with getting adjusted to your cpap machine or mask, than this is for you!

The first thing we recommend to patients who are having a hard time keeping their mask on throughout the night, is to practice wearing it throughout the day. When you are relaxing in the comfort of your own home, wear the mask. Watching TV, or reading a book in your spare time? Wear your mask. You do not need to worry about hooking it up to the machine just yet; first, get comfortable having the mask on your face for an extended period of time. Start off with about 20 minutes a day, and gradually work your way up. Once you are comfortable with the mask, THEN connect the mask to your cpap machine, turn it on, and practice taking deep breathes. Again, you are going to want to do this while you are relaxing at home while watching TV or something along the lines of that.

Once you are well acquainted with your mask, with AND without the machine, try actually using the machine for a short time span, maybe 1 hour during the day while you nap. You are a pro at breathing trough the mask with the air blowing from the machine, but now you have to train yourself to do this involuntary while you are sleeping. Not is seems that you have got the hang of sleeping with the mask and the machine for a short period of time, try using it throughout the night. We recommend using it for about three, maybe four hours, at a time until you build up a tolerance to that time span. After a few nights, we hope that you are comfortable enough to use the machine for a full night, if not, keep working towards that goal. Increase the amount of time you are using the machine to between four to five hours, five to six, and eventually you will feel at ease and can be able to use the machine for an entire night. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of hard work.

Now, even when you do become familiar with your mask and machine, there are other things that may cause you to be uncomfortable throughout the night, which can ultimately lead to you not using the machine. Things such as inhaling moist/dry air, cold air, nasal congestion or dryness can also come into play. The good thing about this, though, is that there are easy fixes in which each issue can be addressed. When there are no more issues, it is more than likely that you will be sleeping like a baby!

For more information, please visit out website: https://www.cpapoffice.com/CPAP-BiPAP-DESENSITIZATION-STEP