While the Cleveland Clinic offers an informed review of the CPAP machine, I would suggest that there are some additional “downsides” that they have not identified. Many people who have purchased a CPAP machine never get comfortable with its use. It is not just “the first few times.” There is also the matter of the ongoing maintenance of the machine. Extensive marketing is engaged regarding devices that one “must have” to keep air passages of the machine clean. Then there is the matter of traveling with the CPAP machine. As the Cleveland Clinic notes, you “must use your CPAP machine every time you sleep.” This means toting it around when you travel, stay with your grandkids, or decide to take a nap in that favorite recliner in your den: “the darn machine is very demanding!”
What about the evaluation of those filling out our Pathways to Sleep inventory? In general, their ratings were pretty high—but not quite as high as those offered by the “experts.” It is also worth noting that the user ratings were quite variable. CPAP machines are indeed controversial. They are also quite expensive and certainly not as accessible as purchasing inexpensive pills at the supermarket. CPAP machines require considerable research for they come in many forms and are available at a rather wide range in price.
Given some of the potential drawbacks associated with the CPAP machine alongside the proven big-money market for these devices, there are now several alternatives to this sleep-aid. Most of the alternatives (other air-driven devices) received rather low ratings—perhaps because most raters are not aware of these devices. This lack of awareness is appropriate since most of the alternative air-blown devices are actually just variations of the CPAP machine, though several introduce more oxygen into the air being breathed by the user. Most of these variants on the CPAP machine are much smaller than the traditional CPAP machine and are intended for use when traveling. The expert ratings were a bit higher than the user ratings, but the costs are generally not much lower than those charged for CPAP machines.
There is another alternative for use with people who are “on the move” and spend many days and nights on airplanes. These are the eye masks that many travelers wear on airplanes. Some of these not only block out light, but also offer an array of images that tend to promote drowsiness. These masks are often accompanied by headphones that cut out ambient noise and (if desired) provide relaxing and sleep-inducting sounds. There are even bracelets that purport to promote sleep. Users are quite skeptical regarding the use of the portable sleep-enhancing devices, as are the experts. With the advent of AI and increasing use of head gear that offers virtual reality to the wearer, we are likely to find the invention of new devices that offer an entire visual, auditory (and perhaps kinesthetic) world which leads one to “sleepy-time land”—even while flying 35,000 feet above the real world or sleeping in a noise-filled hotel room. There will be no need to count imagined sheep in our sleep, we will be able to count visually projected sheep that are passing before our mask-covered eyes.
We don’t even have to look ahead to new technologies that help us attain a high-quality night of sleep. There is already a quite dramatic (and heavily marketed) technological breakthrough. There is a new alternative to the CPAP machine that has recently come on the market. This is a device that is implanted in one’s body! Used for what is defined as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), these devices deliver pulses to one’s airway muscles that keep airways open (much as in the case of the CPAP) so that one can breathe regularly and sleep soundly. Specifically, the pulses move one’s tongue out of the way each time a breath is taken.
