#sleepapneareality

Let’s be honest — as if treatment for sleep apnea isn’t merely telling you that breathing isn’t as necessary as the world makes it out to be. It’s not like we need to breathe continuously all night long, right? (Spoiler: They all do, but let’s take the joke seriously for a minute.)

What is the standard treatment for sleep apnea? The CPAP machine. It’s intended to keep your airways open with a steady stream of air but more closely resembles hosting a sleepover with a loud machine that is very much in your personal space. Yes, it gets you air, but let’s not kid ourselves about it being a dream arrangement.

Then there are lifestyle changes: lose weight, stop drinking, sleep on your side. Easy enough in theory, but little did I know that solving sleep apnea took so much work during the day.

Every single one of us has heard the promises: “This is going to help your sleep apnea,” or “Try this, you’ll be sleeping like a baby in no time! But really, sometimes, it feels like the so-called “solutions” for sleep apnea are just a nice way of saying, “Good luck getting any actual rest.”

Consider the CPAP machine, for instance. It’s designed to make it easier for you to breathe at night, but instead you have a loud machine attached to your face, trying to get comfortable while air comes blasting into your nose. Not quite the restful night’s sleep you were told you’d get.

And then there are the lifestyle adjustments. “Lose weight, quit drinking at night, sleep on your side!” Easy enough, right? Except it’s a lot trickier than it sounds, and while these changes might help, they’re far from the magic bullet we all wish for.