Essential Respiratory & Sleep Australia

23/10/2025

Bushfire Smoke & Asthma – Protect Your Lungs and Your Child’s

Bushfire smoke is more than an irritant — it’s loaded with fine particles that can inflame the airways, trigger asthma attacks, and worsen existing respiratory conditions.

For adults with asthma or lung disease:
• Keep indoors with windows and doors closed when smoke is visible or can be smelled.
• Use air conditioning on recirculate mode if possible.
• Stick to your asthma or COPD management plan and keep your preventer and reliever inhalers close by.
• Seek medical care immediately if you’re using your reliever more often than every three hours or if your symptoms worsen.

For children:
Children’s smaller, more sensitive airways mean they’re hit harder by smoke exposure. Even short-term exposure can cause coughing, wheezing, or breathlessness.
• Keep kids indoors on smoky days and avoid outdoor play.
• Make sure their reliever inhaler and spacer are always on hand.
• If your child’s asthma is flaring, follow their asthma action plan and see a doctor promptly if symptoms don’t settle.

If anyone in your household struggles to breathe easily during smoke events, it’s a sign to review their asthma management. Preventing inflammation today protects the lungs for life.

Essential Respiratory & Sleep Australia
📞 1800-4-SLEEP | 🌐 ersa.au

07/10/2025

Ready to take charge of your light therapy?
The new Biohacker Mode is now live on the AYO app — exclusive to AYO+ devices.

Switch between blue light, red light, or use both at the same time to:
• Boost morning alertness
• Improve sleep quality
• Create and test your own custom protocols

This update gives you full control, right from your app.
If you’ve got an AYO+ device, update your app and you’ll see the Biohacker Mode button on the Home Screen when your wearable is connected.

Perfect for curious minds and serious experimenters. https://www.ersa.au/shop/p/ayo-circadian-light-therapy-glasses

02/10/2025

Waking up with a dry mouth on CPAP?
You’re not alone — it’s one of the most common side effects of CPAP therapy for sleep apnea. But don’t give up on treatment. Untreated sleep apnea raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and daytime fatigue.

Why it happens:

CPAP airflow makes the mouth fall open during sleep

Mask leaks or poor fit dry things out

Mouth breathing worsens the problem

What helps:

Use the humidifier (and heated tubing if available)

Adjust humidity and temperature settings

Try a full-face mask or chin strap

Stay well-hydrated through the day

Get your mask fit checked by your provider

Takeaway:
Dry mouth is annoying, but fixable. Don’t let it stop you from using CPAP — the benefits for your health are worth it.

👉 Book an appointment with us today if your CPAP comfort needs improving. Call 1800-4-SLEEP or visit www.ersa.au

01/10/2025

Breathing polluted air over many years may make sleep apnea worse. A European study of more than 19,000 people with sleep apnea found that higher levels of air pollution, especially small particles called PM10, were linked to more severe symptoms. The effect was stronger in some regions than others. This research shows that the air we breathe can affect sleep health and suggests that cleaner air could help reduce the severity of sleep apnea.
Read the full article at

People living in areas of elevated air pollution may be at risk of more serious sleep apnea events, according to a large new study that spans multiple countries. However, being aware of your air quality means you can mitigate that risk to improve your sleep and health.

14/08/2025

Is CPAP the only answer for sleep apnea? Maybe not for long.

The Nyxoah Genio system is a new implantable device designed to treat obstructive sleep apnea without the need for a mask or hose.

How it works: Stimulates the hypoglossal nerve to keep your airway open during sleep.

Who it’s for: Adults with moderate to severe OSA who can’t tolerate CPAP.

Current status: Available in Europe and now approved by the FDA in the USA. In Australia, it has only been used in clinical trials and is not yet commercially available.

The potential: No mask, no hose, and the freedom to sleep naturally while controlling OSA.

We’ll be watching this closely and will share updates on any steps toward approval in Australia.

Follow ERSA to stay up to date on the Genio system and other emerging sleep and respiratory technologies that could change how we treat these conditions.

Would you consider an implant if it meant no more CPAP mask? Tell us below.

13/08/2025

CPAP may help prevent hypertension in OSA.
A European Respiratory Journal study found that continuous positive airway pressure stopped blood pressure from rising in normotensive patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea and a dipping blood pressure pattern. In this randomized controlled trial, the CPAP group showed a significant drop in nighttime diastolic blood pressure compared with usual care, suggesting CPAP could be used to prevent hypertension.

Read the full article here

A new study reveals the potential benefit of continuous positive airway pressure in preventing hypertension in normotensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea and a dipping blood pressure pattern.

03/08/2025

🫁 Child Lung Function Testing is Available from Age 5 🧒👧

At ERSA (Essential Respiratory & Sleep Australia), we provide specialist lung function testing for children aged 5 and up.

Whether it's for asthma, chronic cough, unexplained breathlessness, or pre-surgical evaluation — our experienced Clinical Physiologists use child-friendly equipment and techniques to get accurate, reliable results in a calm and supportive setting.

📍 Bulk billed for eligible referrals
📅 Fast appointment availability
📞 Call 1800-4-SLEEP or visit www.ersa.au to book

🩺 Because respiratory care shouldn’t wait.

25/06/2025

😴 Why Do We Sometimes Recommend Extra Testing During a Sleep Study?
If you’ve ever read your sleep report and seen the suggestion:

“A review by a sleep physician is strongly recommended for consideration of an in-laboratory CPAP titration study with TCO₂ monitoring and a waking blood gas test,”

…you might wonder, what does that actually mean? Here’s a simple explanation 👇

🫁 TCO₂ Monitoring – Checking Your Breathing Overnight
TCO₂ stands for transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring. It's a non-invasive sensor (usually placed on your skin) that checks how well you're getting rid of carbon dioxide while you sleep.

Why does that matter? Because some people don’t breathe deeply enough overnight, even if their oxygen levels seem okay. This can happen in conditions like:

Obesity hypoventilation
COPD
Neuromuscular conditions
Or just very shallow breathing during sleep

TCO₂ helps us catch those problems early and fine-tune your treatment.

💉 Waking Arterial Blood Gas Test – A Deeper Look at Your Lungs
This is a quick blood test (usually taken from the wrist) done in the morning after a sleep study. It measures your:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
Oxygen
Blood pH (acidity)
And more

If your body is holding on to too much CO₂, it can be a sign that you need more support than standard CPAP. Sometimes it means switching to a different machine or adding daytime support.

👩‍⚕️ Why You Might Need These Tests
Not everyone needs them — but for some patients, especially those with ongoing tiredness, breathlessness, or other medical conditions, these extra checks give us a more complete picture of how your lungs are working overnight.

At ERSA, we’re here to make sure your sleep treatment is exactly right for you — and sometimes, that means digging a little deeper to get the full story.

📞 Got questions? Call us on 1800-4-SLEEP or visit www.ersa.au to book a consultation.

20/06/2025

🧠 Over a Century of Brainwaves: Celebrating 100 Years Since the Discovery of EEG

On 6 July 1924, a quiet but revolutionary moment occurred in the German city of Jena. Psychiatrist Hans Berger, driven by an insatiable curiosity about the human mind, placed electrodes on a person’s scalp and successfully recorded the first-ever electroencephalogram (EEG)—capturing spontaneous electrical activity from the brain.

What Berger saw was remarkable: rhythmic waves that pulsed with the brain's internal rhythm—what we now call alpha waves. This breakthrough opened a new window into brain function, allowing us to observe, in real time, what was once invisible.

Today, 100 years on, EEG has become a cornerstone of neuroscience and clinical medicine, playing a vital role in areas such as epilepsy, coma monitoring, and perhaps most meaningfully for us at Essential Respiratory & Sleep Australia (ERSA)—sleep medicine.

EEG in Sleep Studies: Watching the Brain While You Rest

At ERSA, we routinely use EEG during overnight sleep studies (polysomnography) to map the brain’s activity through different sleep stages. From light sleep to deep slow-wave sleep and REM (where dreams occur), EEG tells us when and how the brain cycles through these vital phases.

Why does this matter?

EEG helps us diagnose sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, REM behaviour disorder, and sleep-related epilepsy.

It allows us to accurately stage sleep, which is essential for identifying disruptions like obstructive sleep apnoea or fragmented sleep architecture.

It provides a fuller picture of brain function in those experiencing unexplained fatigue, cognitive decline, or nocturnal events like seizures or parasomnias.

EEG is not just about wires and waveforms—it’s about seeing the silent language of the sleeping brain, and using that knowledge to improve lives.

From Berger to Bedside: A Century of Insight

What began as a solitary experiment in 1924 has become a powerful tool that now helps thousands of Australians each year better understand their sleep—and their health.

At ERSA, we're proud to honour Hans Berger’s legacy by continuing to advance sleep science with evidence-based, personalised diagnostics. Whether you're struggling with persistent fatigue, snoring, or unrefreshing sleep, EEG remains central to uncovering the “why” behind your symptoms.

📅 100 Years of EEG – and We're Just Getting Started

As we celebrate this milestone, we also look forward to the next century of innovation in sleep and brain health. Here's to a future of deeper understanding, better sleep, and healthier brains.

If you or someone you know is experiencing sleep issues, reach out to us at www.ersa.au or call 1800 4 SLEEP. Your brain deserves the best rest possible.

18/06/2025

Is poor sleep making you feel like a beast? Awaken feeling refreshed with the help of our Auto-CPAP machines. We will beat any other store buy 5%. Call 1800 04 CPAP (272) today!

18/06/2025