How can a CPAP machine help with my sleep apnea?

Video Overview

People ask me, how does a CPAP machine help me with my sleep apnea? Well, when you go to sleep, the muscles in your body relax, including the muscles of your throat. In rapid eye movement sleep, all the muscles are paralyzed except for the diaphragm. That is when you are most vulnerable, but your body is not going to let you die, so it will not let you go into REM sleep or it will keep waking you up the deeper sleep you get if your airway closes off. So, what this CPAP machine does is a very simple mechanical concept, amazing concept. It just blows up your airway a little bit just to keep it up as the muscles relax. This is not a big deal and a real life saving treatment can be available to people who desperately need them to prevent heart attack, stroke, excessive daytime sleepiness, problems with memory concentration. People think they have Alzheimer's disease when they are 50 years old and they are just sleepy if they cannot concentrate. CPAP is a wonderful advancement. It has been around with us for a little over twenty years, but it is a moving target. It is getting better all the time.