Sleeping in a chair

Does anyone else do this on a regular basis? I was visiting friends in Dallas this weekend and Friday night had my usual night of not sleeping due to the fact that CPAP doesn't work for me. After getting out of bed, I sat in a VERY comfortable chair and ottoman to read the paper while waiting for my friends to awake. Next thing I knew, it was two hours later - they had been up and about....all over the house........a repairman had come and gone........the dog was scurrying about......and I had slept through every bit of it. They told me that I was completely out of it.....dead to the world.......and i felt GREAT!!!! Better than I have felt in a long time.

I have fallen asleep in my recliner at home before, but it is just like being in bed......I wake up choking and gasping for breath.

So this morning, I was flipping through the AARP bulletin and saw an ad for THE PERFECT SLEEP CHAIR. It's also a life chair, which I don't need, but it sounds great. Their website even lists sleep apnea as one of the conditions for which it is helpful.

So, just curious what some of you may think of this.

I started sleeping in a recliner due to shoulder pain. I stayed in that chair for over a year. It was a lot easier to sleep in than the bed. I wanted to get away from the TV, which was in front of the recliner, so I moved to another room and now sleep on a sofa. I've been there for well over a year so far.

I went to my kids' houses for a couple of weeks and had to sleep on a real bed. It hurt my hips, knees, and back. I couldn't wait to get home to my sofa!

I saw that same ad and pointed it out to my daughter. I have been able to sleep upright in a chair without my CPAP as long as I was careful about my neck position, but something is changing. Lately I've become aware of indications I am having apneas even when upright. I hate that. I don't know if you're game or not, but maybe you could experiment to see if you are safe when upright - or just "safer". Although it's not a perfect experiment, if you slept in a chair with your machine starting at a low pressure you could see if apneas cause a pressure increase. Even if your apneas are just better and you still need the machine in the chair, maybe the improvement would be enough to make using CPAP more successful for you.

The last year or so, I have a hard time staying awake in the evenings while watching tv, it's worst after supper. I wake up with a start, showing I am probably having events. I really don't want to sleep at these times so I don't use my XPAP in the chair. I know I shouldn't but I do. Jim

I slept sitting up in the recliner from the time I was diagnosed until I got my CPAP. Sleep was not very good but it reduced my symptoms somewhat, especially the morning headaches.

Due to ongoing medical problems other than sleep apnea, I have been using an adjustable bed for several years. It is similar to sleeping in a recliner, and I can adjust the head and foot position independent of the settings on my wife's side. The bed is similar to those used in hospitals, except it is queen sized and has two small mattresses instead of one large mattress. I sleep in a reclined position with my head and feet raised without a pillow. I have found the pillow pushes my head forward and makes breathing harder.

My mom has been sleeping in a recliner for over 10 years due to pain issues. She is still severe with sleep apnea if she doesn't use her machine. IN fact, 3 years, at a setting of 10, she was still having clusters of long events, some over a minute long. She had to increase her pressure.

I have been known to fall asleep sitting up in a recliner, couch, or propped up in bed. I am so bad that I snort myself awake. I will also get myself kicked out of movie night as my snoring disturbs everybody. The only time I don't snore when sleeping (and not using cpap) is when riding in a car. Not sure why that is. But I asked as I didn't want to doze off if it meant bothering others in the car.