Hypoxia and Medicine

low oxygen saturation levels?

I just found out I have sleep apnea. I am fine with that but the doctors are concerned that my oxygen saturation levels dropped to 60 most of the night without the CPAP and 90 with it. Is it normal to have your oxygen levels down that low when you sleep?

Public Comments

1. This is not normal. A normal, healthy person does not have their oxygen levels drop during sleep. I don't know if you realize exactly what sleep apnea is. It is a condition where you stop breathing when you are asleep. Short periods (very short, like a few seconds) of this can be normal, but obviously you are doing it long enough that the oxygen levels in your blood are dropping significantly. A normal O2 sat is 95-100%. Not only can this lack of oxygen be harmful to your brain and other vital organs, but the episodes of apnea cause you not to sleep well at night and therefore cause increased fatigue throughout the day. Get a cpap...you will be surprised how much better you feel in general once you get used to the noise.
2. No. Your oxygen levels should be in the 90's at all times.
3. Nope, 60 is not normal when you sleep. Just to give you an idea. At rest, saturation is roughly around 95%. During intense exercise, it is thought that saturation goes down by about 5% in sedentary people (unless in high altitude conditions)
4. While its normal to have a very slight drop (maybe 1 or 2) during sleep your O2 levels should always be between 95 and 100%. 90 is ok, but pushing it. I would follow closely what ever the doc has told you to do to take care of this. Good luck to you and I hope your doing better soon! :)