Sleep apnea can cause problems functioning during the day for someone who has the condition, and can be quite scary for loved ones who witness it.  Luckily sleep apnea can be treated with CPAP equipment.  But how does CPAP work?

CPAP stands for "continuous positive airway pressure."  Basically, a sleep apnea mask prevents the person’s throat from closing and cutting off the person’s breath by continuously blowing air into the person’s airways.  Although this sounds uncomfortable, it is adjustable according to how bad the person’s sleep apnea is — so someone with a minor case might not even notice the positive pressure that much.

In any case, after trying a sleep apnea machine, many patients find that the benefits far outweigh any minor discomfort.  Because sleep apnea disrupts sleep, people with this condition often feel and act just the way you’d expect if they’d gone days without sleeping at all: They get irritable, experience sexual dysfunction, and fall asleep at unexpected and inappropriate times.  Since a CPAP machine helps to restore normal sleep patterns, patients often find that they feel well rested for the first time in ages.

On this page, you can see a picture of someone using a CPAP machine.