It started innocently enough. A nudge in the middle of the night from my wife to roll over because I was snoring.
But over time it escalated.
From a nudge to full-blown annoyance. I got yelled at and finally banished to the couch. Apparently, my snoring was out of control.
I never noticed it, of course. As the joke goes, “I once stayed up all night to see if I snored…”
But there was a problem. I was tired. Yawning throughout the day. No amount of coffee would help.
Finally, after more nudging, I went to the local hospital’s Sleep Center. Gone are the days when you have to sleep at a facility where you are watched all night by technicians. Nope, now as with a lot of diagnostics, it’s all done at home.
I was given a device that looks a bit like an overgrown Apple Watch. From the watch, a monitor goes to your index finger to monitor your oxygen, and another monitor gets taped to the base of your throat. It’s all automatic and honestly not uncomfortable.
After wearing it for eight hours the device is returned to the Sleep Center and the data is downloaded and analyzed.
The diagnosis? Moderately obstructive sleep apnea. Great. Just great. The pulmonologist said I was having about 25 “apneas” per hour. An apnea is a 10-second interval when you stop breathing. Not good.
A CPAP device was recommended, and I agreed.
After a quick 30-minute instruction on how to use one – I took it home that day.
And, of course, like everything nowadays, I had to download an app.
The app connects to the CPAP machine and monitors your progress across four metrics: usage, mask seal, events/hour, mask on/of,f and assigns points to each metric – giving you a cumulative score after each night. 100 points is a perfect score.
Looking at this scoffed. Really? Do I need an app to keep me motivated? I’m not a child.
Apparently, I was wrong.
My first-night score was an 80. Why? My mask fit was too loose and the air was escaping. But I got a badge for my first night!
Now, determined to get better scores I adjusted my mask and saw my scores improve – 95, then 97. I also got a badge for wearing the CPAP three nights in a row! Then another badge for seven nights!
Finally, after a bit more than a week, I woke up and immediately checked the app – 100!
Now my goal is to continue to get 100s and I’m looking forward to my 14-day and 21-day badges.
Yes – the app worked. They got me hooked. I’m playing along and getting virtual badges. What could be more 2024 than that?
I guess you’re never too old to play games and get prizes.
Mike Auerbach Group Editor-In-Chief [email protected]