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Holding Breath Whilst Awake?
Just been asked by a Twitter follower who has sleep apnea if it's normal to sometimes hold our breath whilst awake. I do this sometimes and have queried it before with my GP who told me I'm more 'expert' than he is on these matters LOL, so in other words he didn't know. My theory is that it could be a habit we've picked up due to it happening so often in our sleep.
Does anyone else notice this?
Views: 4360
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ZolliStar on
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I can't say that I've noticed this BUT I do think it might be useful to practice good breathing habits while awake: The "experience" just might "transfer" to our night-time breathing.
I used to be really reluctant to go to bed at night. I actually felt a tad anxious. I now realize that this reluctance was probably because my unconscious knew -- even if my conscious didn't know -- that I would experience suffocation periods throughout the night.
I now welcome bedtime -- and it's been just a tad over six months of using my CPAP. I call that...progress! I suspect that my brain/body/unconscious got the message: I won't be suffocating periodically anymore. The before-CPAP reluctance may have been a form of protection.
But I may be reading too much in to this. ;- )
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope www.hope2Sleep.co.uk on
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Interesting reply ZolliStar, as when I got my diagnosis and the consultant explained how sleep deprived I was, I asked him that if that were true, how come I went to bed really late? His answer was "because your subconcious-self knows that sleep is a dangerous place to be for your body so has learnt to avoid it as long as possible." Interesting theory eh?
ZolliStar said:I can't say that I've noticed this BUT I do think it might be useful to practice good breathing habits while awake: The "experience" just might "transfer" to our night-time breathing.
I used to be really reluctant to go to bed at night. I actually felt a tad anxious. I now realize that this reluctance was probably because my unconscious knew -- even if my conscious didn't know -- that I would experience suffocation periods throughout the night.
I now welcome bedtime -- and it's been just a tad over six months of using my CPAP. I call that...progress! I suspect that my brain/body/unconscious got the message: I won't be suffocating periodically anymore. The before-CPAP reluctance may have been a form of protection.
But I may be reading too much in to this. ;- )
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Permalink Reply by Michael Elizabeth Wilding on
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I've noticed this for years and have brought it up with my family doctor and she didn't really know what to tell me. I kind of scared me because i was wondering if my body was forgetting how to breathe because of the apnea. So I searched "symptom, forget to breathe" and came up with this blog! I can't tell you how relieved I was to discover that I wasn't the only one!
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Permalink Reply by mcrfella on
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I am pleased someone has raised this matter. I too have noticed at times i hold my breath, and have pit it down to doing the same when sleeping.
Unfortunatly my condition is still the same after 2 yrs of diagnosis.I have tried the cpap which didnt help.It has got to the stage now, that i have asked my gp to refer me to another sleep specialist.
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I think of "holding my breath" as taking in a deep breath and holding. I don't do that during the daytime, but sometimes I will simply relax my diaphragm for a few seconds, meaning about 2/3 exhaled. This is wonderfully relaxing (until the urge to breathe makes me stop!). I don't do it a lot, but perhaps 2 or 3 times a day. I think it actually has a calming effect.
I also have a tendency to stay up late, and it could be that the reluctance to go to bed has something to do with apnea. But, before CPAP and when I was not congested, I really enjoyed lying down and relaxing to sleep, though I usually didn't sleep a full night and was sleep-deprived. I'm pretty new, less than 3 weeks on CPAP and still struggling to get comfortable with it. At this point, I dread going to bed, because for 100% of any awareness time during the night, I am uncomfortable and often fighting leaks. I customarily spend most of my time on my side, which is good, but I have tried both a full face mask and nasal pillows, and turning on my side with either invariably makes it leak.
My sleep study showed an AHI of 51 on my back, and 22 on my side, mostly hypopneas (AI was only 3.6), but my O2 was down to 77% at one point and I had 0% stage3/4 sleep. Anyway, I think my OSA may be less serious than many. So far, my CPAP nights *feel* less restful than my pre-CPAP nights, except for 1 or 2 when I had less problems with leakage and waking up fighting with the mask.
My personal (not a medical professional) opinion is that holding your breath or consciously ceasing to breath, as I do sometimes, has nothing to do with "obstructive" sleep apnea. If anything, it might relate to central sleep apnea, but I think even that is only a maybe. Of my total apneas, about half were central. But most CPAP's don't do anything for those, anyway.
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I don't do this but my husband, who doesn't have sleep apnea, does it when he's more tense, like when driving our RV rig. I figure it takes a lot more concentration than just driving a car so he does it to stay alert and calm. I don't notice him doing this at any other time.
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Kath Hope www.hope2Sleep.co.uk said:Interesting reply ZolliStar, as when I got my diagnosis and the consultant explained how sleep deprived I was, I asked him that if that were true, how come I went to bed really late? His answer was "because your subconcious-self knows that sleep is a dangerous place to be for your body so has learnt to avoid it as long as possible." Interesting theory eh?
ZolliStar said:I can't say that I've noticed this BUT I do think it might be useful to practice good breathing habits while awake: The "experience" just might "transfer" to our night-time breathing.
I used to be really reluctant to go to bed at night. I actually felt a tad anxious. I now realize that this reluctance was probably because my unconscious knew -- even if my conscious didn't know -- that I would experience suffocation periods throughout the night.
I now welcome bedtime -- and it's been just a tad over six months of using my CPAP. I call that...progress! I suspect that my brain/body/unconscious got the message: I won't be suffocating periodically anymore. The before-CPAP reluctance may have been a form of protection.
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Marcia Herman said:
Kath Hope www.hope2Sleep.co.uk said:Interesting reply ZolliStar, as when I got my diagnosis and the consultant explained how sleep deprived I was, I asked him that if that were true, how come I went to bed really late? His answer was "because your subconcious-self knows that sleep is a dangerous place to be for your body so has learnt to avoid it as long as possible." Interesting theory eh?
ZolliStar said:I can't say that I've noticed this BUT I do think it might be useful to practice good breathing habits while awake: The "experience" just might "transfer" to our night-time breathing.
I used to be really reluctant to go to bed at night. I actually felt a tad anxious. I now realize that this reluctance was probably because my unconscious knew -- even if my conscious didn't know -- that I would experience suffocation periods throughout the night.
I now welcome bedtime -- and it's been just a tad over six months of using my CPAP. I call that...progress! I suspect that my brain/body/unconscious got the message: I won't be suffocating periodically anymore. The before-CPAP reluctance may have been a form of protection.
But I may be reading too much in to this. ;- )
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Hi,
I have been on the machine for some 6 years and have the software to keep up to date. it's quite often that I get, what is a central sleep apnoea. (forgetting to breath.) I have a couple through the night which my machine records Resmed S9 with software. Iv'e done lots of reading and it seems I should not be too concerned. If you have them when you are awake with the mask on, and working, like I do it can be quite concerning. If they start to happen regularly, then I believe there is reason for concern and you should discuss this with your clinic or doctor. I'm no expert but there are not many around and sharing our knowledge on these forums is a good way of getting info.
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Sorry for the blank next to my name above. I'll try it again.
I used to go to bed late b/c I was scared to go to sleep and experience yet another awful apnea event (when I didn't know I had sleep apnea.) Thankfully it's not an issue now. My docs kept giving me GERD meds and anxiety meds. I told them I was anxious b/c of what's happening, not b/c I'm anxious all the time!
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YES! I go through periods of holding my breath and I think, no wonder I have sleep apnea! This is what I'm doing in my sleep! It appears to be coincide with anxiety, although sometimes I don't know the reason. It can go on for days at a time, or If I can manage to just forget about it, it goes away. It feels like a compulsion or bad habit I sometimes drift into. The old remedy for hyperventilation, i.e., breathing into a paper bag, sometimes helps. My doctor didn't have any advice either.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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I think sometimes when we hold our breath during the day it has more to do with intense concentration or stress. You know how when you get stressed out someone might remind you to breathe, to take slow deep breaths. When we're asleep the airway either partially or completely collapses unless we're having a clear airway event where for some reason we just don't take a breath (or a cenral).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003997.htm here is a good overview of central apnea not associated with sleep apnea, but due to oter diseases.
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