What is CPAP?

CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. The machines help people with sleep apnea breathe more easily and regularly every night while they are sleeping. A CPAP machine increases the air pressure in your throat to prevent your airway from collapsing when you inhale. It also decreases snoring (which will help your partner snooze better at night, too!). The machine has a filter and small tank of water, which essentially works as a humidifier. There is a tube that connects the unit to a mask that you place over your face while you sleep, and a chin strap keeps it in place

Auto CPAP users find it more pleasant to breathe with an APAP than with CPAP. The pressure delivered by an APAP machine automatically changes as needed, to deliver the minimal pressure required to maintain the airway. The pressure delivered by a CPAP machine is set to a single pressure, the highest necessary to keep the airway open as determined during the sleep study. This is the case even when the higher pressure is needed only a fraction of the time.