An Overview of my experience with Sleep Apnea

I have lifted weights for the last twenty years, with the goal of building muscle mass. In the weightlifting community, it’s commonly known that people with a lot of muscle mass eventually develop sleep apnea due to the build up of excess muscle mass around the neck. (For men, anything above a 17 inch neck is the danger zone. I have an 18.5 inch neck.) In short, apnea is when you stop breathing in your sleep due to the weight of gravity causing your throat to close.

Over the last two or three years, I’ve finally reached the point where sleep apnea is a problem. For me, sleep apnea takes the form of snoring and light sleeping. I toss and turn throughout the night. What sleep I do get is so light that I wake up feeling tired. Sometimes I wake up with headaches. I go to sleep early (9 or 10pm), and have to sleep extra long (9 or 10am) just to get enough rest. I have brain fog, making thinking difficult. I don’t feel good enough to drive late in the day, for fear of getting in a car crash. I was exhausted all the time.

Throughout December of 2024, I suffered evening bradycardia in the lead-up to the arrival of my CPAP machine (bradycardia is a heartrate below 60 beats per minute). My doctor considered that a sign of exhaustion; my body was slowing down my heart in an effort to keep me relaxed and get me to sleep extra.

Additionally, I suffered PVCs (Premature Ventricular Contractions). My heart was beating out of sync. It is a form of heart palpitation.

Additionally, I suffered from tachycardia (a resting heartrate above 100 beats per minute).

I had to go to urgent care at the hospital twice. I received a heartrate monitor for three days, and it diagnosed bradycardia, tachycardia and PVCs.

Additionally, according to my smartwatch I had Atrial Fibrulation for about 20 minutes, before I got the heartrate monitor. AFib is another type of heart arrhythmia, when the upper chambers and lower chambers beat out of sync. This is another form of heart palpitation.

I got diagnosed in October/November of last year, and got my CPAP machine a few days before New Years 2025. The CPAP machine has been a godsend. I feel a LOT better these days. Before, I would take naps two or three times a week; that’s down to once or twice a month now. I feel more energetic at the gym these days, and it’s easier to wake up in the morning, and earlier. My quality of life has improved DRASTICALLY. I’m having quality sleep for the first time in 3+ years.

CPAP means continuous positive airway pressure; the machine helps me breathe at night by forcing air down my throat, helping me breathe. I personally found it very easy to adapt to using the machine. It makes almost no noise. I was a very congested sleeper before, but with the CPAP’s humidifier, I find my congestion is resolved. I now breathe better during the day in addition to at night because of the CPAP.

I’ve read that it’s fairly common for new users of CPAP machines to slowly have to build back up to sleeping throughout the night. For example, after I first started using the machine, I was only getting five hours of sleep every night. After two/three months of use, I’m finally able to get a full eight hours of sleep. That’s normal.

A few other things.

• I’ve noticed that caffeine negatively impacts my ability to sleep at night, even if I only drink a cup or two of coffee first thing in the morning. I’m presently cutting out caffeine for a few months while I recover completely. Ditto with alcohol.
• In an effort to sleep through the night, I try to drink less water late in the evening so I don’t have to wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
• If I do have to wake up at night to go to the bathroom, I keep the lights out, especially blue light exposure. Blue light resets your body’s natural alarm clock, encouraging you to wake up.