liveaboard stranger roomies

[RJP]

Sounds like you'll be paying 1.5x liveaboard prices...

I will happily room with anyone who offers to cover half of my cost to come on the trip and will sign a binding contract wherein I will promise not to snore at all.

Hell, as I think about it, if anyone wants to pay 1/2 my cost to come on a liveaboard trip with them I will promise to sleep in the salon, use the deck head, and shower on the back of the boat! You'll never even know I'm on board...

:cool2:

 

[vladimir]

hmmm, I was thinking it was going to cost double, 1.5 times may be worth it. I will do some experimenting with ear plugs. I'm not sure they can do the job but I'll put my wife the scientist in charge of running the experiments. Thanks for the input. PS, any non snorers want to do the Aggressor in Feb?

50% extra seems to be the norm, but 100% is not unheard of. I have paid the surcharge and I have bunked with strangers. I have also gotten a single through luck of the draw (liveaboard captains take note: that merits an extra-fat tip from me). You may want to handicap your chances of that (low season in Belize or Christmas in Galapagos?) before shelling out the extra cash, because it's a little annoying to pay the surcharge and see that the boat is only half-full.

Although I am not the best sleeper in the world, after four or five dives I will usually sleep pretty soundly no matter what. And I have been pretty lucky with impromptu roommates thus far--all nice people, one a very pretty young woman, and no snorers in the bunch.

 

[divengolf]

I'm one of the snorers along with sleep apnea. For those not familiar, the flesh at the back of the throat is vibrating as well as closing off completely. In between making all that noise, we can get pretty close to dying from lack of oxygen before the body wakes up to open the airway. That could give a little comfort to those lying next to us thinking of strangling us...

If you've been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, have you been put on a CPAP machine? I've been on one for over ten years and sleep like a baby with NO snoring. I have a small one that I carry whenever I travel.

 

[The Chairman]

A white noise machine will help a lot. My CPAP machine not only keeps me from snoring, but it covers over those who do. I love it!

 

[RJP]

A white noise machine will help a lot. My CPAP machine not only keeps me from snoring, but it covers over those who do. I love it!

Can you even hear it over the ambient noise of the boat itself?

Truth be told, between generators, engines, AC systems, water lapping on the side of the boat, etc, etc I'm not sure I'd ever hear someone snore... even if I were sharing a BUNK with them, much less a cabin.

:shocked2:

 

[Shasta_man]

Yes, I have a CPAP machine and it does work very well, though I am still getting used to it. It is new and very quiet. It is still a bit of a mindbender to put that thing on to sleep but it does work great and the wife loves it. There are a lot of people out there with this problem. I've been amazed to find out how many people there are, as evidenced by the responses. I found out I had the problem when I told my wife, after about 7 years of marriage, how bad my father's snoring sounded. She said "that's how you sound!" and I was off to investigate the world of CPAP. I don't have a little version though. Those little things aren't cheap!

 

[divengolf]

Shasta: I bought my travel machine used from an outfit in Minnesota. It cost me about $200 as I recall. Most of their machines have little or no use on them. The gov. and insurance rules require that any machine used for even a minute cannot be prescribed to another patient as new. So there is a huge inventory of "used" machines. Mine had less than 10 hours on it when I got it.

It's a Remstar Plus M series. It's half the size of my home machine but does not have humidification. If you're interested, here's the place I bought it.

Used CPAP Machines | Used RESPIRONICS CPAP & BIPAP Machines | Discount CPAP & BIPAP Machines

The other reason that I bought it was as a backup to my home unit. Before I bought the M series, my home unit failed and I did not have a current prescription from my doc., so the health equipment folks required me to get one before they would replace my home machine. So I went several days without a machine. Doesn't make for pleasant dreams.

My ENT doc told me that only about 15% of the people in the US with sleep apnea have been diagnosed and treated. If you're a major snorer, go see your ENT and make sure that you're don't have it. It's a significant cause of coronary problems, so I'm told.

 

[BTravlin]

I have an appt with my ENT this afternoon. My wife is tired of my snoring and I'm tired of getting elbowed throughout the night. Hope I don't have sleep apnea but it sure would be nice for both of us to get a good night's sleep.

 

[vladimir]

There are exercises that might be effective against apnea:

Three months later, the patients in the tongue/facial exercise group had reduced their obstructive sleep apnea severity by 39%. Those patients also reported that they were snoring less, sleeping better, and were less sleepy during the daytime than they had been before learning the exercises. And, although their BMI (body mass index) hadn't changed, their neck circumference was thinner than it had been at the study's start.

If that doesn't work, lose some weight.

Men's Health Lists : MensHealth.com

MH Today

Tongue Exercises May Ease Sleep Apnea

 

[Shasta_man]

Thanks divengolf. Yep, I have moderate to severe sleep apnea. The tests said I'm averaging obstructing 35 times an hour and getting down as low as 65% oxygen (!). No problems with small throat so surgery won't help so I have the CPAP machine. I'm still having trouble with waking up in the early AM to deal with the mask, but I'm trying to improve. I encourage anyone who snores to get tested. You can not fix it yourself, regardless of motivation.

I don't believe it is as simple as that, Vladimir. I went from very thin to average weight and had the same problem the entire time. I'd imagine you could help the problem with some toning, but not eliminate it.

Last night, I just happened to hear Dr Dement who is a pioneer in sleep research. He "discovered" REM sleep, etc. Very interesting info:

YouTube - Personal Growth Series: Dr. William Dement on Healthy Sleep and Optimal Perfo...

http://kliv.gotdns.com/kliv/MP3_Audio/07_06_10_CEO_Show.mp3

And now we go back to the thread...