If you are looking for a way to be more energized and more productive in the new year, you might start by making sure that you get a good night’s rest. For the 18 million Americans who suffer from sleep apnea, getting that good night’s rest might rely on using a CPAP machine. Unfortunately, a sufferer of obstructive sleep apnea may experience as many as 60 apneas in a single hour. This interrupted rest can lead to not only being less productive in work and in everyday tasks, it can also lead to an increase in even greater health risks. In fact, studies indicate that untreated sleep apnea sufferers are three times as likely to have heart disease and face a risk of stroke that is four times as likely as those who are not afflicted.
It seems foolish that so many people put themselves at risk of health concern created by sleep apnea when the could be
using a CPAP machine. The use of these machines, however, is dependent on the proper use of this equipment. In fact, if you are not using a CPAP machine correctly, you will not only miss out on the health benefits, you may also miss out on the insurance coverage that you could be receiving.
Even the best full face masks and the highest quality CPAP machines simply cannot be effective if they are not used as directed. Studies indicate that for optimal results and continued insurance coverage, patients should use CPAP at least 70% of the time over a 30 day period, for a length of at least four hours every night. Not following these directives, on the other hand, can lead to less rest and can even result in an insurance company refusing to pay for the sleep apnea products.
In addition to following these basic suggestions, it is also important that older sleep apnea patients also take extra precautions. In fact, patients who are over 60 years of age are five times more likely to require heated humidification for successful CPAP machines. Unfortunately, nearly 80% of patients who say they use their CPAP machines actually do not use it enough to keep them safe and to help them get the rest that they need.
