Note: Upon upload this video had a misread of a line saying CPAPs are "Not much better than nothing" when the line was supposed to be "Much better than nothing." We've edited the video to remove that mistake!

My sleep apnea was so bad the doctor seemed legitimately concerned about me dying and I was 29 at the time. I can't live without my CPAP it's the best thing ever.

CPAP is great because I can pull the covers over my head for extra cozy warmth in the cold dry winter while still getting fresh slightly-warmed humidity-controlled air.

I've been with my husband for over 15 years...he's been snoring LOUDLY and choking in his sleep the entire time. He got diagnosed with OSA years ago, we got a cpap machine, and he never used it... until 6 months ago. He got dx with high blood pressure. I told him that he now MUST use the machine. I didn't care how uncomfortable it was. I got used to sleeping while pregnant and/or breastfeeding so he could get used to breathing all night with a mask. The difference has been INCREDIBLE. Not only is HE sleeping better, but I do too!!! I didn't even realize it, but I spent most of my night monitoring his breathing, kicking him when he didn't take a breath for over 10 seconds. We both sleep soundly now.

I had undiagnosed apnea for decades. I almost died twice from seizures in my sleep. Now that I have a cpap, I don’t have to stay caffeinated all day just to stay awake, and don’t wake up a dozen times a night. Your mileage may vary, but it has been a huge improvement in my life. To put a fine point on it, before the cpap, I stopped breathing for at least ten seconds at a time 61.5 times per hour. After, it is 0.6 times per hour.

I personally know 5 people who are on CPAP, and they ALL had their quality of sleep DRASTICALLY improved. One guy was so bad, he would fall asleep while on support calls, while waiting for peoples' routers to reboot. Since getting his CPAP he's back to normal.

My spouse has finally stopped snoring and it lowered blood pressure for us both. Him, because he's actually getting real sleep, and me, because his snoring was keeping me from sleeping.

Nurse here! One of my earliest patients during nursing school was a gentleman who had sleep apnea. After losing almost 100 pounds (he did great on that!), he decided that he no longer needed his CPAP machine without having another sleep study. Problem was, by that point, even with the weight loss, his sleep apnea had worsened enough to have made his heart rhythm change to atrial fibrillation, which is where the first chamber of the heart just jiggles, and it can cause the blood in that chamber to clot, leading the clot to break off causing heart attacks, strokes, and the same in the lungs (known as pulmonary embolism). He unfortunately had that clot break off and landed in the hospital after a heart attack. So, for now, if you're someone who was told to use a CPAP, even with lifestyle changes and improvements, it's still good to get a follow-up sleep study to see what changes happened with the lifestyle improvements.

My partner uses a CPAP and it has improved both our lives so much! I used to wake up because he practically stopped breathing, it was scary. Few years ago, he had to have some surgery and the anaesthesiologist asked a bunch of questions beforehand and basically urged him to get this checked out in a sleep laboratory. That's how we found out it was a rather severe issue. I'm forever grateful to that doctor for taking the time!

I scored 97 events per hour when I got mine. I was falling asleep while driving, which was extremely dangerous. The change was instantaneous. I've been using it for a couple of years now and I don't care what any study can say, for me it's a life saver.

I was diagnosed with OSA in 2016. You can pry my cpap out of my cold, dead hands. I don't even care that much about the long term health benefits, it fixed a symptom that had been attributed to my depression for 20 years -- lethargy, difficulty accomplishing things, which turned out to be caused by daytime sleepiness, not depression. I just last week had to do a new sleep study to qualify for insurance to pay for a new cpap machine. I slept without cpap for one night and was exhausted for almost a week. The sleep I got the night after that sleep study was heavenly. So even if cpap doesn't fix long term health issues it still makes a massive difference for me. I travel with it. I went camping last summer and bought a battery backup and a solar panel to recharge with for the camping trip. It's incredible. And yes it was annoying for the first week or two, and occasionally still is. But I get good, restful sleep that refreshes me, which is priceless.

I had terrible apnea when I was 20. I finally got hired into my job and got insurance, got a sleep study, and a CPAP, and I got to feeling so much better. 20 years later, I could NEVER go without it.

Using a CPAP with the Resmed AirFit P10 nasal pillows makes an amazing difference in comfort and non leakage for me. I also customized the strap using a thin tubular stretch material. This lessens the overwhelming feeling of too much apparatus on one’s head. And it comes in pretty colors 😊

Anecdotal but after I got my CPAP I went from barely squeaking by at work, barely staying awake in the afternoons or in meetings, to completely crushing it. I got a promotion and an award for one of my projects. I also had neighbors that used to bang on the wall because I was snoring so loud and that stopped. I use it consistently and I really feel awful if I miss a night.

Hi, Registered Polysomnographic Technician here. I found this video very insightful, but I will say I see a loooooooot of people that initially struggle with CPAP treatment. As the person directly running the studies and titrating the machines though I can tell the extreme improvement in sleep depth and consistency as well as the maintaining of oxygen levels at night. I have patients regularly desatting into the mid 70s to high 60s at night which is extremely dangerous to their overall health. I throw a CPAP machine on them and boom fixes it like nobodies business. They work! New mask technologies and CPAP machines also have dealt with the noise issues as well. Any CPAP you get at home medical now will be whisper quiet. It is well understood in the world that if you don't follow a treatment plan prescribed by your doctor you will have a worse outcome. If anyone reading this comment is having trouble getting used to their machine one effective way of acclimating to it is by trying it out while you are sitting at the couch watching TV or a movie. Let your body sit and relax with it in a low pressure environment. If you are still struggling, I would try a different mask, home medical companies are there to help you through your journey and making sure that the treatment is an effective one for you.

I actually like my CPAP. It made an immediate and massive difference in my sleep. I went from falling asleep all the time to functioning normally.

Throat surgery is a better option than any machine. I had mine 5 years ago and my quality of sleep and life overall changed dramatically. You should do a follow up video on this.

My CPAP has greatly improved my quality of life!! I have very severe OSA and putting the mask on/feeling the pressure has become part of my nightly wind down routine. It’s somehow very comforting/relaxing and I fall asleep so much faster now too which is wild!

Whatever the case may be for the science. My friend was given one of these machines, and he's noticed a massive change in the quality of his sleep and his ability to focus while working.

My spouse just started using a CPAP about three months ago. I deal with insomnia, so his constant snoring was making both of our sleep quality terrible. Him using his CPAP fixed this issue, and my insomnia has greatly reduced. I help him out by reminding him to put on his CPAP before he falls asleep, which has greatly help the effectiveness given his forgetfulness from ADHD. I've also noticed that he is much happier after work and has more energy. It's been a lifesaver in this household.

I am a dentist and my wife is a dentist board certified in dental sleep medicine. This is a really great video, especially on your discussion of efficacy versus effectiveness as it applies to the two options. Nice work!

My husband snored like a chainsaw and had so many episodes a night where I’d hear him choking for a moment. It took years to convince him to have a sleep study which showed he has severe sleep apnea. His CPAP has helped immensely.

Anecdotally, my bipap makes a HUGE difference in my sleep quality and eliminates my sleepiness during the day.

I have pretty severe OSA and over the years found out from numerous coworkers and acquaintances that they too were diagnosed and put on CPAP therapy. Aside from me and my father I have yet to meet anyone who uses the machine consistently for a full night's sleep. It's very obvious to me that there is a MASSIVE "compliance" problem in their application. At the same time, that 4+h / night counts as "adherent" seems absolutely bonkers to me. It doesn't surprise me at all that you would get mixed results when you use such a low bar. If someone told me "I am constantly tired and don't know why, I mean I do sleep a full 4 hours every night!" I would laugh them out of the room. (I know, because that actually happened.) I can't weigh in on their effectiveness with anything more than my personal anecdote: In my over 10 years of CPAP therapy I've slept like 3 nights without it, one was an overnight flight and the other two I forgot to bring it and swore I would never do that again. I am probably as close to the ideal CPAP patient as you can be. I took to it like a fish to water and am miserable without it. Obviously more research is always a good idea! And alternatives are always great! I just wanted to say that if you have OSA don't let other people's problems discourage you from giving it a shot. The machines have gotten a lot quieter over the years. New models no longer sound like Darth Vader, but fainter than a gentle Dyson fan. The 6 months between replacement parts seems also pretty excessive in my experience. Each of my machines has held up without fault for 4 years before being preemptively replaced by my healthcare provider (due to running over the 10k h mark). My biggest cause for parts replacement is my cat chewing on the tubes when I don't hide them well enough.

I have to thank my orthodontist for averting my developing sleep apnea! I was discovered by a local dentist to have events at night. Thankfully at the same time my brother had discovered an orthodontist in New Port, CA that specialized in palatal expansion. After the many months getting it expanded, I had been getting perfect sleep! And I even started breathing primarily through my nose AND stopped breathing through my mouth at night which DRASTICALLY reduced my plaque buildup! Definitely get informed about all your options!

Yes. The danger of sleep apnea isn't suffocation. It's the damage it does to your heart. With less oxygen coming into the body the heart has to work harder to keep your body oxygenated. After I started using mine I felt so much more rested and my blood pressure improved

Pulmonologist and CPAP user here - the biggest issue with the studies (particularly the SAVE trial that was touted as proof it didn't really work) is the adherence piece. As you'd noted it also depends on your definition of severity. Another piece you didn't really touch on is how hypoxemic people get overnight (which correlates with severity but not fully). The problem isn't the floppy airway per se but what it causes: 1) large swings in intrathoracic pressure which leads to changes in blood pressure, cardiac output, and heart rhythm control, and 2) low oxygen. We know from fairly good data that the machines are efficacious to help these problems. It's also hugely beneficial for sleepiness (as many commenters note). In studies the issues can be that many OSA patients have comorbid insomonia or other reasons to be sleepy. In people with an AHI>30 who are symptomatic (and especially hypoxemic) we have reasonable equipoise that it's effective. For people with an AHI 30 and no symptoms it's tricky. We'll usually still recommend it for the theoretical benefits but it's much murkier. AHI

My sleep apnea 'vanished' a few months after I divorced and moved into my own place. Was it the decrease in stress? Did 'happy me' sleep better than 'grouchy me'? Turns out I was allergic to her skin-cream and hair-products. That was 8 years ago. Don't get me wrong: when I needed CPAP, it was a genuine life-saver! All I'm saying is that the causes of apnea are sometimes hard to determine. 4 sleep-studies, Doctors never asked about allergies...despite me mentioning that I got itchy eyes just before bed every night.

Without CPAP, I have 50 breathing stops per hour. With, I have 4. Within a day, I stopped falling asleep at work or while sitting down. I lowered my blood pressure. My stress levels improved, heart variability improved. Life quality improved radically. I use my CPAP machine extensively and at every opportunity. It took some time to get used to, but now I won't try to sleep for a minute without it. I don't care that I get allergic reactions to the medical silicon in the face mask. I simply will not try to sleep without it. When I accidentally falls asleep without my mask, I will wake up jetlagged and stay in a really bad mood for several day. A CPAP machine is the signle greatest improvement for my life out of all modern inventions I know.

I can't overstate how much my wife's CPAP machine has helped her. But she DOES do what the doctors tell her and uses it for 8 hours a night. She's kept that up for some 5 years now and I'm so proud of her. Oh, and it costs her nothing, as we've got our NHS here in the UK (SFUUSA).

My son has one (fortunately being in Britain, it was given to him). It's made a huge difference to him. One thing we quickly learned regarding keeping it clean if you're in a hard water area is to get deionised water. It's made a big difference in how clean it gets.

Missing from this video (and the comments so far) is the Pillar procedure. It was tremendously effective for me. Best alternative to CPAP IMHO.

As a primary care physician OSA is quite a bit more common than people think and once treated can have significant beneficial effects for the patients. There is even something referred to as a "CPAP high" when people who use it finally get a good night's sleep and feel fantastic the next day. Thanks for explaining the differences in the studies and why we see those.

My wife would not be here without one. Her apnea was at a dangerous level. With a CPAP. She does not snore at all.

This was such a great video. My mom was prescribed a CPAP machine this year. I love that she will get better health and sleep better. I love learning about the CPAP machine since I will be around it at night.

I was living with brain fog and couldn't stay awake. I was a danger to myaelf and others while driving. I was so exhausted and slept all the time but never got any rest because i stopped breathing over 100 times an hour. CPAP saved my life. It's truly amazing how much better i feel after a good night's rest.

Mine literally keeps me alive. Been using one for most of my life.

To be honest, I was scared seeing the title of this video. But I'm relieved to hear that they do work when used correctly.

I'm Autistic with a lot of sensory issues, and my sleep quality got worse after using the CPAP. I couldn't fall asleep at all with it on, and I was avoiding going to bed. The doctor, "helpfully", just told me to not use it since my sleep apnea was mild enough. However, it has helped both of my parents sleep better.

CPAP machine saved my life. i couldn't stay awake more than 5 mins sitting down.. went almost 2 year without a full night of uninterrupted sleep.. now i sleep great.. i honestly don't think i could live without it,.

I don't ever want to go back to feeling the way I did before I got my CPAP. What a HUGE improvement it made.

My husband's CPAP has greatly improved my quality of life!!

My husband has sleep apnea, which he only figured out because I noticed he would regularly stop breathing for several seconds at night and then gasp back into breathing. Home study didn’t show anything. We insisted on a lab study, which showed 40+ incidents an hour and oxygen sat levels in the 70’s. He’s had a CPAP for a few months now and it’s made a world of difference for both of us. He’s way less tired throughout the day. Incidents are down to one or two per hour. And I’m sleeping way better because he isn’t snoring.

My husbands dad actually used one of the first iterations of a CPAP machine in Australia. It was essentially a modified vacuum cleaner. He unfortunately died young, but the technology has improved immensely since then.

I've been using a CPAP machine for the past six months, and my life has completely changed. I'm much more awake now, my weight has gone down, and I can think more clearly. It's just awesome!

My CPAP is one of the best things that happened in my life. My apnea was horrible. 72 AHI. Saturation as low as 70% (YES! SEVENTY). Now I can live normally. I dont get sleepy. I dont have constant headaches. No grumpy "dont talk to me before my third coffee" attitude. I lost weight.

This coming into my feed the day after I did a sleep study. Good to know this for when I get my results.

I have moderate sleep apnea and I use a CPAP machine every night that I can. For my part, I do appreciate the machine in theory. I no longer wake up having a panic attack anymore because my airway has become blocked and my brain wakes me up. But I also can't stay asleep for more than 3 hours at a time because the mask and hose bother me when I am sleeping. After you fall asleep, your jaw actually relaxes and slips down even lower than when you are relaxed and awake. This causes my mask seal to break, and air begins hissing in. Apparently when this happens, my sleeping self just takes the whole mask off and rolls over. I also have problems rolling over and pinching off the hose, or jerking the machine onto the floor by rolling too far. There are a LOT of factors to using a CPAP for different people. Thanks for mentioning the OAT device. I will ask my doctor. Thank you for the video too!

Yeah, as someone with severe OSA, CPAP therapy failed for me, THE FIRST TIME. I couldn't get it to fit right, it never got used for more than a few hours, and I abandoned it. When I was bone tired after 10-12 hours of sleep 10 years later, I tried again, and made myself FULLY commit. I now can't even sleep without it, it gets used 8 hours a night, and my life is so much better every day. Treatment compliance is a huge risk-factor in CPAP therapy and might explain why its so dang hard to draw conclusions on.

I have severe sleep apnea along with a minor heart condition which shouldn’t be a problem without the apnea, before using CPAP I couldn’t even walk 20 minutes without suffering cardiac symptoms similar to a cardiovascular disease, and my cardiologist was of no use for almost 3 years, immediately after I started using my CPAP I felt better and with more energy than when I was in high school.

Pithy, superb critique of the study designs, & ID’ing the needs in study designs now to make the data of more practical, clinical & personal utility. Nicely done.

There's also a surgical procedure to remove parts of the throat that relax too much - a coworker had it done, and he reported getting better sleep the night after the surgery, even as he was healing from it. He described it as feeling like he'd had a tonsillectomy, but with really great results!

I've had a CPAP machine for about a decade now. Regardless of whether it helps with my cardiovascular health and blood pressure, it MASSIVELY improves my quality of sleep. I leave it on for a full night each night, and even with my insomnia, it's still far easier to keep it on and when I eventually do get back to sleep, I don't have to worry about waking up (again) because I can't breathe

It took a few months for me to be able to use my CPAP every night and keep it on all night. There really is a big learning curve. But once I got used to it, I started sleeping more deeply, feeling better during the day, having more energy at the gym, better mood, lower blood pressure… it’s absolutely life changing. If anybody out there is struggling with a CPAP or doubting whether it’s worth it, don’t give up.

I have been using a CPAP since 2000. I can't sleep without it, but it did take a little time to get used to it. It has helped my quality of sleep immensely!

I'm happy to see that you included oral appliance as an alternative but nothing about the new sleep apnea implants. Would love to know about those.

Mine makes a massive difference

I am very dependent on my CPAP. Couldn’t live without it.

PLEASE DONT LET THIS VIDEO PUT YOU OFF A CPAP OR PERSEVERING WITH IT! It changed my quality of life massively for the better! I couldn't get by without my CPAP! If I fall asleep without it im screwed the next day! I will struggle to work, with terrible brain fog and a pounding headache in the morning. I sleep with it with no issues all night. Typically 6-7 hours.

My CPAP has absolutely 100 percent helped me.

There’s no inherent reason for oral appliance therapy to cost more than a CPAP machine. Anti-bruxism mouthguards cost under twenty dollars. The only reason OAT costs what it does is lack of price transparency and insulation from competition.

I have severe sleep apnea, and I can tell you that these machines are lifesavers.

Thanks for talking about OAT. I didn't know this existed. I will definitely be asking my doc about this.

There was a YT video a few years ago with some of the world's top strongmen (e.g. Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall) where they mentioned that they consider CPAP to be a "performance enhancing device" rather than a medically necessary tool. It doesn't just keep you alive, but it actually allows you to perform better the following day, both physically and mentally. That completely changed my mindset on CPAP from annoying to beneficial, and I now use CPAP 100% of the time when sleeping with great results.

As a RPSGT who has titrated 100s of patients with CPAP for 10+plus years I enjoyed this video.. I been watching SciShow for years and I'm happy that they made a video relevant to my life's work. I have so much input I would like to add.. but the main take away is that I have done sleep studies on before and after and for the most part.., leaving OSA untreated for years will be a huge detriment to your cardiovascular system. CPAP, in conjunction with weight loss, will help improve your quality of life for SURE

My sleep study showed an AHI of 124. I have Complex Sleep Apnea. Obstructive and Central (Brain forgets to breathe) I’m mildly over weight. Since my diagnosis 10 years ago I have used my machine nightly, once I got used to it I fall asleep with it and wake up with it on. If I get out of bed I will put it back on when I return. I didn’t realize how bad I felt until I started to get proper sleep. Prior to my cpap diagnosis I never slept more than 3 hours because I felt 10 times worse if I did. I truly believe the cpap machine saved my life.

I have struggled with OSA for years without knowing it. This year I was finally approved for a machine. I would have daytime fatigue so severe I would fall asleep sitting down, driving, or even typing on the computer. I didn’t wear it for a week due to a sinus infection and all the fatigue came back. Amazing how much this machine does for me.

I've been using CPAP and now VPAP (where the V is for variable) for twenty years. I don't intentionally sleep without my machine. Before treatment I literally fell asleep in just about any circumstance where you might think sleep is impossible. My quality of life is measurably better. The machines are worth the cost.

I love my CPAP and use all the time. Got a portable battery a month ago so I could take my CPAP and go camping first time in 10 years. Slept better camping than I ever did before.

20 years on CPAP...I cannot sleep without it.

A year into APAP and I’m still tired as hell all day every day. Even so looking closely at my life it’s undeniable that it’s had a dramatic impact. All of the measurable metrics I can think of show clear improvement. Part of the issue for me and many others is that my sleep isn’t impacted by just the one condition so it can’t be solved by just the one treatment.

Thanks!

They may be overprescribed, especially for people with mild cases, but for some people (like me) they are a life-changer. I started to notice that I was having trouble functioning, focusing at work, staying awake while driving, etc. It was pretty scary. I honestly thought I might have to give up my license, since I had trouble driving for more than 15 minutes. I went to my doctor and was like "what the hell is wrong with me?" He sent me off for a sleep study and they were like "this is one of the worst cases we've ever seen." Once I started using a CPAP, I felt like a new person. It's been 10 years and on the rare occasion when I fall asleep without it (or forget it when I travel) I'm miserable.

When I got my CPAP-machine my life changed. Sleep apnea caused so many problems in my life: depression, self hate ("why am I not able to do all these things other ppl do?!") pain, and ofcourse tiredness and poor sleep. Now I'm totally fine with only 6hours of sleep when before even 12hours wasn't enough. My sleep apnea was pretty bad. Have to use it every time you sleep.

Can confirm. My CPAP resupply company decided to just stop sending me stuff even tho I had insurance for it and a subscription service, due to a clerical error. They never called me, and while I waited for them to fix it, my equipment was not able to be used (since the nose pillows were beyond using). I started having more seizures, worsening anxiety, and I wasn't able to sleep properly so I was beyond tired. This was over a 4 month period. I have it back on again and following doctors orders and it is so much better.

Love my CPAP. It saved my life! And I finally became stable and able to hold down a job.

My understanding has always been that CPAP helps when you're using it, and only when you're using it. The way that it works is by forcing air into your airways, and it DOES do that, which is indeed helpful (and potentially life-saving for those with severe sleep apnea). But it doesn't actually solve the underlying problem of your airways naturally closing up in the first place. It's a treatment, not a cure.

I suffered from unrecognized OSA for a decade or more. My quality of sleep was so consitently bad that I didn't even recognize it was a problem; there was all-pervading exhaustion but I (and my doctors) thought it was just my psyche. Did countless hours of psychotherapy (mainly for "depression" of which I never knew where it came from), tried various medications, got diagnosed with ADHD, tried stimulant medication, and STILL I couldn't get my life in order. One night with my CPAP machine, and I felt basically cured. No more depressive episodes, can keep up with household chores, was able to finish an education, and recently started on my first full-time job. But I recognize that I'm lucky that my pressure-settings were suitable for my needs from the start, and I got a suitable mask and everything at the very beginning.

It's nice to see you recovered so well after your battle with cancer

Both my parents use CPAPs and honestly we're all confident it saved thier lives since theyd both stop breathing during the night at multiple times, i very clearly remember being able to hear them snoring with all the bedroom doors closed when they got them and i no longer heard them i was shocked and had to start playing white noise since i wasn't used to quiet nights lol But in all seriousness im extremely grateful for the doctors and everyone else who made CPAPs possible 🙏

I was diagnosed with severe OSA in 2022, and was recommended an APAP machine (which is just like CPAP except it will automatically adjust the air pressure depending on what you need as you change position throughout your sleep; it tends to be gentler on your airways so less chance of waking up with sore nose and throat). I adore it. My obstruction events are nearly non-existent when I wear it. I suffer from fatigue issues due to other health problems, but the difference in alertness and restfulness I've had since starting treatment for sleep apnea has made my life so much better. The morning after my first use, I realized I'd been waking up with some level of mild headache nearly every day for years because it was the first morning that I didn't. There is an adjustment period when you first start wearing it, because most of the different mask types don't feel comfortable. The best things you can do are to keep trying and to find other CPAP users you can talk to for support. Don't give up; it's so worth it once you get it to work for you!

been using my cpap daily for 10+ years without issue

My CPAP is an absolute lifesaver. My sleep and daytime awakeness has improved so much since using it.

I have moderate OSA but I also have Central Sleep Apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, and RAD, so I flunked CPAP spectacularly a few weeks ago. So I’m being fitted with a device called a ASV, a new form of ventilator that looks to be a fantastic option. I’m excited to get one and be able to breathe in my sleep.

Mine absolutely makes a HUGE difference. I am so much better since CPAP treatment that I can’t overstate the difference.

My husband has been a BiPap user for 20 years, at times with additional oxygen and/or humidity. I just started using an APaP and am grateful.

Lots of crunchy data in that! Thanks Hank!

I think mine helps. That, and the fact that it keeps me from super-loud snoring that disturbs my husband, means it’s essential for me!

I don’t understand. I love my CPAP. It has tons of hidden silver linings. Like when the only comfortable place is fully under your covers but the air gets too hot and you can’t breathe under your covers anymore. Not a problem when you have a CPAP it gets the air from outside of your covers. When you have a cold and you can’t fall asleep because you have to breathe through your mouth CPAP let you breathe through your nose unless it’s really clogged. And it helped me acclimate to high altitude and I didn’t get altitude sickness for the first time. I honestly found the full face mask more comfortable and less stressful than the nose one. But I was very worried about trying it so don’t be afraid of the full face mask.

I have a VPAP, been using it 99% of nights for the past 8 years or so. Made a huge difference.

I was tired all the time. My girlfriend at the time told me I needed a sleep study. Did the study and a week later I received my CPAP machine. I've been getting awesome sleep for over 10 years now! Love my CPAP and would be lost without it!

Love the post-chemo curly hair and the bouncy adolescent energy, Hank! So glad to see you looking so healthy!

As somebody who started using a CPAP a few months ago, it has made a massive difference in how well I sleep, and I would never even consider not using it!

I was nearly asphyxiating every night. I felt like crap every day, and my bipap has actually helped improve my quality of life. I can't sleep without it now, and on the extremely rare occasions that I do, I feel like death for days after, and I remember what life was like pre-bipap.

My mother has Severe OSA, her sleep analysis produced a result of 80 something of which normal criteria is 5, her symptoms were loud snoring, halted breathing patterns and most difficult one was irritable bladder which caused her to run to bathroom several times a night, since CPAP most of that was averted and she is not so sleepy during the day. Also i recently heard about this INSPIRE THERAPY, but don't know much about it.

The cpap is great. The suggested cost of replacing all the functional parts every month is completely insane.

Well, here I go again disagreeing with the majority of commenters. I have mild-moderate sleep apnea and my year spent trying to use CPAP was a nightmare - the cure was almost as bad as the disease. I went through probably 5 different types of masks. I was lucky if I used it for more than 4 hour a night. It would take longer to fall asleep. And at the end of the day, I felt that for the huge investment I made, it wasn't making a huge difference. I ended up making a concerted effort to sleep on my side more often (instead of on my back), keeping adequately hydrated, and avoiding foods and drinks before bed that dehydrated me (ie: alcohol, sugary stuff). That alone made a huge difference and has increased my quality of life. I wish my primary care givers had made such basic suggestions before steering me towards a one-size-fits-most expensive device.

Shout out to SciShow for covering the messy and complicated topics, even when it goes against the traditional knowledge and accepted conventions!

I have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and it took me almost a year getting used to the machine and getting the right mask. The problem being that I have never slept on my back and am mostly unable to fall asleep in that position. Still! Once I had everything just right, my snoring stopped (my wife and I can finally share the same bedroom) and I was well rested after almost 2 hours less in bed instead of waking up all groggy. Needless to say that I wouldn't think of falling asleep without it or removing it during the night. When I do forget about it, a very bad quality of sleep will remind me about it quite soon. For me CPAP machines are a blessing.

I've been using a CPAP for over 10 years now. The difference is astonishing. I used to wake up multiple times each night with my body full of adrenaline. My body would decide that the adrenaline was necessary to keep me alive and give me a shot. Then, it would take a couple of hours for the adrenaline to subside so i could get back to sleep. I simply wasn't getting the rest I needed -- a problem for an airline captain. With diagnosis of sleep apnea and religious all-night use of my CPAP, I now am fully alert all day long. No more drowsy driving, no more sleeping in church, and no more in-flight naps. I wish I'd done the sleep study 15 years earlier.