10-11-2023, 05:03 PM
Maybe this will help you too?
I've been on a journey to figure out why despite low AHI and a transition to bilevel I am still experiencing fragmented REM sleep. Along the way I've found a couple of things that have worked well for me so hopefully they will benefit your therapy as well.
Fluctuating sp02 (blood oxygen) is not always correlated with respiratory events
I had been experiencing brain fog and lack of quick recall memory for a while and saw every doctor I could find but didn't receive any helpful information. I bought a o2 ring from Amazon (wellue) and found that I was spending 10+% of my night in sp02 drop even though my average AHI was below 2.5! Since my sleep disordered breathing was relatively well treated on APAP I began my investigation and found that my sp02 levels had more to due with how well I could breathe through my nose than anything. As it turns out I was making my condition worse by blowing cool air into my face all night and narrowing my nasal passages, especially early in the morning.
Solution:
2x nasal rinses (saline / baking soda) per day (1 morning / night)
1x flonase after nightly rinse
Turn climate from "auto" to as warm as it can go (86*F)
Mild sedatives can help you get more restful sleep
Recently I've run into a bout of insomnia where I wake up randomly through out the night 1-2x so I looked for a natural solution and found apigenin which is the active ingredient in chamomile tea. I found this after researching and watching Andrew Huberman's podcast on sleep hygiene. The first night I took it I felt INCREDIBLE the next day and come to find out I had unintentionally increased my arousal threshold which helped my sleep architecture / REM consolidation.
Finally, this video was very helpful to watch, especially the portion Dr. Krakow is presenting so I'd though I'd share for the UARS folks out there and other interested parties:
https://youtu.be/Syv7YcHbTCI?t=1323
Later in the video the last doctor mentions using zolpidem off label to increase arousal threshold in difficult OSA patients.
Fluctuating sp02 (blood oxygen) is not always correlated with respiratory events
I had been experiencing brain fog and lack of quick recall memory for a while and saw every doctor I could find but didn't receive any helpful information. I bought a o2 ring from Amazon (wellue) and found that I was spending 10+% of my night in sp02 drop even though my average AHI was below 2.5! Since my sleep disordered breathing was relatively well treated on APAP I began my investigation and found that my sp02 levels had more to due with how well I could breathe through my nose than anything. As it turns out I was making my condition worse by blowing cool air into my face all night and narrowing my nasal passages, especially early in the morning.
Solution:
2x nasal rinses (saline / baking soda) per day (1 morning / night)
1x flonase after nightly rinse
Turn climate from "auto" to as warm as it can go (86*F)
Mild sedatives can help you get more restful sleep
Recently I've run into a bout of insomnia where I wake up randomly through out the night 1-2x so I looked for a natural solution and found apigenin which is the active ingredient in chamomile tea. I found this after researching and watching Andrew Huberman's podcast on sleep hygiene. The first night I took it I felt INCREDIBLE the next day and come to find out I had unintentionally increased my arousal threshold which helped my sleep architecture / REM consolidation.
Finally, this video was very helpful to watch, especially the portion Dr. Krakow is presenting so I'd though I'd share for the UARS folks out there and other interested parties:
https://youtu.be/Syv7YcHbTCI?t=1323
Later in the video the last doctor mentions using zolpidem off label to increase arousal threshold in difficult OSA patients.
