CPAP and OSA

Setting Up Your CPAP

Please click on the below links for help getting your CPAP therapy setup for you:

• Unboxing Your CPAP
• Getting Your CPAP Setup
• Settings and Adjustments For Your CPAP
• Cleaning Your CPAP
• F&P Healthcare- Introducing the Vitera Full Face Mask
• How to Size and Assemble the Philips DreamWear Mask with Under Nose Nasal and Gel Pillow Cushions

Please visit the NBN Group YouTube Channel for more helpful videos.

Visit NBN’s Medical Boutique for cleaning supplies and pillows to help get you on track to your best nights sleep.

Helpful Information About CPAP and OSA

COVID-19 CPAP Cleaning Tips

Why Am I Using CPAP?
Most people using CPAP have a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea or some variant of sleep disordered breathing. During sleep, the muscles in the back of the throat relax causing the upper airway to become smaller. This is especially true during the deepest stages of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement or REM sleep. A hypopnea is a decrease in airflow, while an apnea is a pause in airflow. Apneas and hypopneas can occur due to blockage or if respiratory effort is not initiated. During a sleep study the number of apneas and hypopneas per hour are documented. This is called your apnea/hypopnea index or AHI. In some individuals the upper airway can actually collapse, causing a blockage of air movement into the lungs. When airflow is stopped for at least 10 seconds it is referred to as apnea. These apneas can occur many times each hour and
hundreds of times each night.

4 Ways to Fight Sleep Apnea
Here is the great news about having OSA (Obstructive SLeep Apnea). There are significant things you can do to keep yourself healthy.

1. Use CPAP Consistently
   OSA can be treated with positive results. The most common treatment for OSA is CPAP. For the best results CPAP should be used all night, every night and during every nap.
2. Maintain a Healthy Weight
   Dietary weight loss can lower a person’s risk and reduce the severity of OSA.
3. Get a Full Seven to Eight Hours of Sleep Each Night
   Sleep seems to play a role in helping the body manage its weight. People who sleep for fewer hours each night tend to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than people who sleep longer. Studies also have linked sleep to some of the hormones that help control body weight and appetite.
4. Avoid Drinking Alcohol at Night
   Alcohol disrupts sleep and can make episodes of OSA more frequent and severe.

Sleep Apnea and Commercial Drivers
There’s no question that driver fatigue poses a serious threat to safety on our nation’s roadways. But just how bad is the threat? Well, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of fatigue-related crashes reported to the police each year stands at a staggering 100,000, many of which involve professional drivers in heavy commercial vehicles. That means an average of 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary damages each year as a result of fatigue-related accidents.

Truck drivers that have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who fail to adhere to treatment had a preventable crash rate five times higher according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Morris, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and colleagues. They also found that drivers with OSA who were fully compliant with the company-mandated treatment had a crash rate no different than that of the control group.

It is well-known that sleeping less than seven hours a night can have a negative impact on health. Truck drivers are working longer hours and have increased stress levels. Now more than ever, getting an adequate amount of sleep is important to maintain overall health, especially if a driver has been diagnosed with OSA.

Troubleshooting