04-08-2016, 09:14 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-08-2016, 09:17 AM by Zeeez.)
Good Numbers?
Having been a long time CPAP user, but new to data following, I'm curious what others consider good numbers for the night. Dream station with Dreammapper software keeps score on Hypoapneas, Obstructive Apneas, and Clear Airway Apneas. If I have had a good night with a couple Hypoapneas and maybe a Clear Airway Apnea, I wake up feeling ok and not tired during the day. As the numbers get worse and maybe include one or more Obstructive Apneas, I feel hungover when I get up and through the day.
It would be interesting to know what others consider a good night and at what point the numbers reflect deminished abilities or some sort of handicap through the day.
Also, I'm curious how consistent nightly results are for others and what kind of numerical variations you get over time.
Thanks
Curtis
RE: Good Numbers?
They try to distill efficacy of therapy down to one number: the AHI. Which, if less that 5 is considered good.
There is really more to it than can be put into a single number. Add a couple of OAs that last 30+ seconds with O2 desaturation; and it can make for a bad day; even though the AHI may still be less than 5.
Add to that the fact that we are all different; and there is no clear answer to: "It would be interesting to know what others consider a good night and at what point the numbers reflect diminished abilities or some sort of handicap through the day."
As for me, I slept 5.6 hours last night and had an AHI of 0.8
I feel pretty good; but will fade in the afternoon.
RE: Good Numbers?
My AHI has been averaging 2.6 for the past week, which is down from 3.6 the previous weeks. It's as low as I've yet managed to get it. As a general thing, I feel fine during the day. When I don't, however, it's more likely to be because I didn't get at least 7.5 hours of "sleep" (i.e., total time from lights out to waking up). That is, I "feel" more sleep deprived the next day when, for whatever reason, I get a short night's sleep than I do when the AHI is higher. I've had days when I felt great after a night of AHI=6.
It's also important to keep in mind that there are other things going on besides respiratory issues that can affect the quality of your sleep. My sleep study revealed a significant number of "spontaneous arousals", which are wake-ups or near wake-ups not obviously triggered by apneas, hypopneas, or limb movements. They occur for some other reason. Some could have been artifacts of the sleep study environment itself, but then again, maybe not. It's impossible for me to track and study these, but I have to remember they may be affecting the quality of my sleep.
So, I view a reasonably low AHI as a necessary but not sufficient condition for a good night's sleep.
RE: Good Numbers?
My AHI seems to range from .5 to 4.5. For the last couple of weeks almost every night is at least 2.5. I don't necessarily feel any more tired after a 4.5 night than I do after .5 night. What matters more is how many hours of sleep I'm getting. Obviously I'm more tired after a night of only 5-6 hours than I am after 7-8. It's my own fault; I stay up too late sometimes on weeknights. ;-)
RE: Good Numbers?
AHI numbers are relative to treatment. Compared to untreated numbers the AHIs of 5-10 that I got for the first couple of months were good. I was envious of the people reporting numbers below 1. Now that I have a full year of treatment under my belt, my ave. and 90% pressure numbers are decreasing and AHI is consistently below 1. So keep chasing those numbers, they will come.
