Do you get stressed out after waking up and seeing a not so great AHI score?

[pcplus2]

I've been on CPAP for 54 days now and have been doing really well.  My average AHI is 0.64 which I know is low and maybe I shouldn't be complaining.  Last night it was 1.5 which I know is still low but when I wake up and look at it, it kind of bums me out that it is double my average.  Anyone else feel the same way?  Sometimes I think I should stop obsessing about the numbers and just appreciate the fact that I am sleeping better.

[Melman]

No reason to stress out. We all have nights with atypically high AHI. 1.5 is still quite good. Occasionally I will see a value over 5 after running consistently below 1. SleepyHead usually helps me identify the issue.  

The important thing is that your feeling better. Don't ruin that by worrying about the numbers.

[Sleeprider]

I've been on CPAP for 54 days now and have been doing really well.  My average AHI is 0.64 which I know is low and maybe I shouldn't be complaining.  Last night it was 1.5 which I know is still low but when I wake up and look at it, it kind of bums me out that it is double my average.  Anyone else feel the same way?  Sometimes I think I should stop obsessing about the numbers and just appreciate the fact that I am sleeping better.

You better get used to it.   I've been doing this for 10 years and still have nights higher than that.  It's meaningless.

[pcplus2]

Thanks Melman.  I look at my Sleepyhead data regularly.  When you say that you look at the data and it helps you identify the issue when you have a high AHI, what is it specifically that you look for?

[C0mbe]

I don't really get to stressed about it. Every night is a new night! Although your bad night is basically where my good nights are. Granted I have some altitude related issues, and my bad nights can be 8-13 AHI.

[OpalRose]

There are so many things that affect our sleep and thus our AHI reading, like medications,
congestion, stress, overeating, anxiety, etc.

I used to get upset over seeing a higher reading than normal, but after awhile it won't bother you.  Unless you see a high jump in your AHI, dont worry too much.   Go by how you feel!  

I used to check my data daily, now just glance at the reading on my Apap in the morning.  Once a week, I download to SleepyHead to look over.

[Gideon]

Statistics, That is a 134% increase, and seriously a totally meaningless statistic.

[RichardVT]

I used to, then I realized that a lot of the incidents could be something as simple as my holding my breath as I roll over. As long as the average, day by day, is low, I am satisfied.

[Sleeprider]

Statistics, That is a 134% increase, and seriously a totally meaningless statistic.

234%, but who's counting.

[Melman]

Thanks Melman.  I look at my Sleepyhead data regularly.  When you say that you look at the data and it helps you identify the issue when you have a high AHI, what is it specifically that you look for?

Usually any period of flow limitation of between 0.75 and 1.0 associated with OAs. This, to me, indicates, a change in position such as a chin tuck that restricts flow through my airway. That's because measures to reduce chin tucks brought an immediate and significant improvement in my AHI. If I were to see that my machine were running at max pressure for much of the night I would consider increasing the setting, but not based on the results from a couple of nights and not without consulting the forum. I'm fairly new at this and don't have the expertise of some of the members. But I don't see that consistently.

As Sleeprider said, get used to it. Anxiety over minor fluctuations may actually be detrimental to your sleep. It's not just effected by how you breathe. I've been doing some reading on sleep stages and have learned that susceptibility to OA can depend on sleep stage (e.g. REM) and the amount of time we spend in each stage will vary from night to night.