How to Choose and Use a CPAP Machine?

If you’ve received a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—which causes numerous brief pauses in breathing as you sleep—your doctor has probably recommended continuous positive airway pressure.

With CPAP, the mainstay treatment for the disorder, you typically wear a mask that’s connected to a pump. The pump pushes air into your airway, holding it open while you sleep.

CPAP can significantly cut the number of nighttime breathing pauses you experience—but only if you wear the device. And roughly one-third of CPAP users don’t stick with treatment.

There are currently approximately 5.9 million OSA diagnoses among U.S. adults, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In those with the disorder, neck and throat muscles relax during sleep, causing the soft tissue at the back of the throat to collapse and block air from reaching the airway. That causes a series of partial or complete pauses in breathing, sometimes hundreds of them each night.

Finding a CPAP mask that is comfortable enough to allow you to sleep is essential. But this can take time. Even with the advances above, using a CPAP machine can feel clumsy and awkward. It may take two to three weeks to get comfortable sleeping with CPAP and four to six weeks before you really begin to see a benefit.