Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by mcpackieh 993 days ago
> waking up 50+ times/night (this would be considered "mild", btw)

50+ a night is mild? I thought I had it bad at 2 or 3. 50 times a night is every couple of minutes, do people who have it even worse than this actually manage to sleep at all?
4 comments
vhodges 993 days ago
When I did my study they said it as >90 times an hour when sleeping on one side and something like >60 on the other. I did a pulse ox test first and the results recommended a sleep study (which was not all that conducive to a good sleep they way it's performed)

Note, you don't actually regain consciousness that often (but if you wake up every 90-120 minutes to pee, and/or snore a lot, your body is telling you something) but it does keep you from getting a deeper sleep. I hadn't dreamed in years because I'd never drop into REM state.

I used to sleep 4-6 hours a night (but rarely felt tired) now I sleep 5.5 - 7 and am much better rested.

link
johnchristopher 993 days ago
> do people who have it even worse than this actually manage to sleep at all?

It's sleep as in their eyes are closed and they are somehow unconscious but they are drifting on and off between falling asleep and being knocked out. There are no recollections of the events so it seems like sleep but very bad sleep (think: more tired when waking up than when going to bed).

link
calfuris 993 days ago
From what I remember an apnea/hypopnia index of up to 5 is considered normal, 5-15 is mild, 15-30 is medium, and 30+ is severe. That's what I learned when I had severe sleep apnea, but it spontaneously resolved years ago so perhaps definitions have shifted. I'd be pretty shocked if 50 were "mild" now, though.

I had an AHI of ~90 at diagnosis, and I couldn't figure out why I was so damn tired all the time. My sleep was very badly disrupted, but since an apnea doesn't typically bring you all the way awake it can be hard to notice.

link
calfuris 992 days ago
Outside the edit window: I just realized that I missed the mention of the timescale. The apnea/hypopnea index is measured in terms of events per hour, and my doctors never discussed it in any other terms, so I automatically interpreted those numbers as per hour.
link
TylerE 993 days ago
When I had my test, mine was over 50 per hour - and that was a decade ago, so I'd likely be worse now.
link