SleepyHead software - do you use it?

Hi everyone! We've been having conversations with members who have various experiences using SleepyHead, and would like to learn more!

If you don't know about the software, it's described on their site:

SleepyHead is a free, cross-platform, open-source research tool for exploring data produced by CPAP machines, and related equipment, which are used in the treatment of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.

Have you ever used it? What were your experiences like? Is there any gap in your understanding of the information that you wish you could learn more, in order to use it better?

It's a really impressive piece of software, but I don't use it all that often, mainly due to limitations outside of the software's control. For example, it's a pain to have to take the SD card out of my CPAP to read it (Phillips has an app that supposedly gets similar info via the CPAP's wireless modem, but it's yet to work for me, and according to the app store reviews it doesn't look like it works well for anyone).

It would be great Sleepyhead had some kind of automated tool for making suggestions based on your data. I know enough to see where my AHI goes outside the normal range, but that's about it. If the data indicate that I might benefit from, say, changing the pressure on my CPAP (assuming such a thing can even be inferred from that data), I wouldn't know it if I saw it.

@UsernameNumber Thanks for the information, that's greatly helpful to know!

I've played with the software a bit, and it does a great job of showing you the data. But, like you said, I would guess there's a large gap between seeing that data and knowing how to interpret it. Have you been able to find any helpful resources anywhere?

I use sleepyhead for my own data, checking my dad's data, and also my sons data. For my own, I have installed a flashair card and configured it to be in STA (station) mode. It signs on to my wifi router and then I use flashpap free software to go get the data off of it. No sneaker-netting the card!

oh - by the way, I love sleepyhead! It helps me know how well my treatment is serving me from an objective standard. I can correlate the subjective how do i feel and my doc and I can come to a more tailored program for me.

@DariaVader I'm glad you've found it so useful! It seems like it could be a really great resource. Can you elaborate a bit on how you got started using it, and any big information gaps that you had to work through in order to gain a good understanding of the data?

@Kyle Sadly no, though I was surprised at my last doctor's visit that they asked me to bring in my SD card, and then the doctor loaded up the data on his laptop running... SleepyHead! We then got to go through the data together with him explaining a few things along the way. So you might ask your doctor about doing something similar the next time you have an appointment!

I found great documentation on it on another forum, and a lot of other knowledgeable users. I feel like I am still learning, but I could clearly see things like what my pressures were doing throughout the night. I started on APAP at 6 to 15, but soon saw that my pressure goes up to 9 as soon as I fall asleep. events tend to happen when pressure falls below 9 and then the pressure goes higher than it needs to if I just start at 9. So now i am starting at 9, have less variation and fewer spikes, and because of not varying, leaks are better controlled. I have graphs that show me all of that. I can also see that I do not have any issue with Clear Airways which are potential Centrals. This allows me to use the EPR setting of 3 without worrying that it has introduced the centrals that can be associated with both EPR and with other variations in pressures. Under advice from my doc, I moved from 6 to 7 for a while then to 8 and finally to 9 - but it was watching it all in Sleepyhead that made me comfortable with doing that.

I have been using SleepyHead for a while and get quite a bit out of it. I have compared it to results from my Intellipap results and it matches beautifully.

Here I was using the Anew mask by Circadience (?) and my AHI was great, but my leaks were outrageous! The machine was not responding at all.

I have had to switch to my 'Monster Mask', the Oracle as my sinuses refuse to deal with that air being forced through them...no matter how gently. My leak rate is rock bottom and my AHI is .50-3.40.

Without having SleepyHead, I would have not been able to see just what my sleep was like with the different masks. Even if I change to a backup machine, it reads it all...without my having to switch software!

After one of those nights from h-ll, waking up initially on the machine after 1.5 hours and not being able to get back to sleep right away, I looked at Sleepyhead software with the expectation I wouldn't find anything significant. I was totally wrong as it looks like a large leak woke me up. I then realized that the eye-ware mask I woke last night to block out light on a new humidifier that I bought to use in addition to the machine, probably dislodged the mask. Anyway, I turned the humidifier around this morning to block out the light and hopefully, that will solve the problem.

I also like the fact that you can set it up to flag breathing events on resmed machines that wouldn't qualify as apneas/hypopneas. As many of us have learned having a low AHI does not necessarily lead to great sleep and having these events might be an explanation for the difficulties.

I have spent the past year+ trying to get my sleep doc to pay attention to the fact that I have NOT been doing well despite having an AHI bouncing along around 5. It was SleepyHead software (that another patient helped me -- dull-witted -- to install on my laptop and get to work) that showed me EXACTLY what was going on.

An AHI of 5, or 5 events per hour, can be as relatively mild as 5 10-second hypopneas scattered individually through each of your hours of sleep, or it can look like the following, where the numbers alternate between seconds of obstructions OR centrals and the number of breaths I take between each event:

starting with an event: 23 <2 18 1 28 <3 17 1 21...

That's 5 events in under 5 minutes, with max 7 breaths between them.

AHI is absurd as a descriptor of quality of sleep, and it was only after I read over the phone to my sleep doc an actual (similar) string of numbers could I convince him to order a pulse oximetry test and now put me on oxygen at night until SOMEone can figure out how to treat the centrals.

Don't ask. I am beyond frustrated, but SleepyHead may, literally, have been a lifesaver.

And there are lots of helpful people on a certain other forum that's been around for many years to help with SleepyHead.

Be sure to donate to the saint who developed it and gave it to the world for whatever you can afford to pay.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with SleepyHead, @BNS. I'm sorry you have experienced such frustration, but happy to hear your physician finally listened. I hope s/he can also figure out what is causing your central apneas. You are correct in saying that a low AHI does not necessarily predict sleep quality. That is just one reason continued follow up with a physician, even after successful use of treatment, is very important.

It is free, but I hope that people realize donations are accepted. Given how much the PAP manufacturers charge, at least one, for their limited software, and how incredibly much one can glean from SleepyHead, I'd say it's worth a great deal...

I used it will my ResMed and loved the detail but now that I have the DreamStation I get minimal detail. I still like it.

I have a dreamstation since about a month and LOVE sleepyhead. It gives me the information that Philips apparently does not want me to have!

I played with SleepyHead a little but very quickly got overwhelmed with detail. I just don't know how to interpret all that data. I like the idea of showing my doctor, so I'm taking a laptop to my next appointment.

I ran a report for my Phillips Respironics BiPAP System One machine. The results did not look correct at all. I then noticed there had been an update to SleepyHead software so I updated, then re-imported my card data. Still wasn't correct. I went to our local DME respiratory company and had them run the data. Wow, am I glad I did. The Resmed data software showed showed I used the machine 2 hours and 10 minutes more than SleepyHead software did! I attempted to contact SleepyHead a couple of different ways but their website has a broken link in one area and says "under construction" using a different link. If a commercial truck driver or pilot used SleepyHead software to submit to their licensing agency they would likely lose their license. Not good. It's best to double check to see if you are getting accurate readings before risking your livelihood.

The software was written by a cpaptalk.com member who goes by jedimark (an Australian). He moved servers last year and there were reports of malware being injected into the software which was downloaded. He commented that it wasn't true. I just don't know as this stuff is beyond me but Sleepyhead isn't some corportation so you might want to try and contact the writer of the software via cpaptalk.com.

How does a Phillips Respironics machine give you Resmed data? I have a Resmed machine and based on my experience, the results seem to be pretty accurate and relaible. Haven't used the Sleepyhead software personally.

I use sleepyhead because the ResMed program is expensive here in Australia. Has always worked well with the Resmed Machines

My first Resmed Machine came with the Resmed software but the second one didn't and the older version of software didn't work with the new machine so I switched to Sleepyhead.

I think the various software reports and results are written for doctors more than patients, but its great for a person like me that likes to read numbers and understand what is going on. I have never seen the website that talks about what all the data means. I can empathise with some of the feedback that it is a bit overwhelming how much info you get. I am still not sure what all the statistics actually mean despite reading all the definitions. My specialist hardly used the data when I gave it to him to look at. He likes to keep things simple. It is great to have that data to show the Doctors though.

Nevertheless the graph pictures on any of the software and Sleepyhead tell you a thousand words, you can see when you are going better than worse.

I don't mind having to pull out the SD card and slot it into my computer. The new Resmed was sending the data wirelessly to Resmed via a phone link which unfortunately doesn't work here in Australia.

I am a fan of Sleepyhead, never had any problems with the software or the site.

I just started my APAP treatment (4 Feb 2016) I am using a DreamStation with the Dreamwear mask. I was interested in getting more information that was provided by the DreamMapper app. I like the information provided by SleeplyHead but am having a few problems with it. 1. There is no close X provided so I have to use the C+A+D to get task manager which then allows closing the program. 2. some times the program does not load completly and does not show some of the wave forms. Closing and reopening allows for full functioning. 3. The DreamMapper and SleeplyHead agree on all but one area. SleeplyHead tells me that there is to much leakage and DreamMapper gives me a 100% mask fit.
By the numbers APAP 14-20; AHI < 2 average 0.75. I do wake with a moderately dry mouth and have been upping the humidifer settings up.