Sleep Apnea Squad: Traveling with Sleep Apnea

Have you ever felt unsure about traveling with sleep apnea? In this Sleep Apnea Squad conversation, we break down how to travel confidently while managing sleep apnea. We cover everything from navigating trips with CPAP, hypoglossal stimulator implants, and medications to understanding how travel affects sleep — including jet lag, flight anxiety, and unfamiliar sleep environments.

Project Sleep’s Sleep Apnea Program Manager, Emma Cooksey, was joined by patient advocate Kristen Cascio, who shares her CPAP travel adventures on Instagram, and Dr. Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist board‑certified in behavioral sleep medicine. Together, they offer practical tips, personal insights, and expert guidance to help you feel prepared and supported wherever your travels take you.

Watch Traveling with Sleep Apnea:

Featured Guests:

Kristen Cascio, MSW, LICSW is a clinical social worker and world traveler from Boston. She was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea at age 31 after years of unexplained, but disruptive, daytime symptoms. An avid CPAP user since diagnosis, Kristen shares her travels with her CPAP on social media, where she hopes to encourage others to never feel self-conscious about their diagnosis.

Kristen is a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program (see her full story here) and can be found on Instagram at @meandmycpap.

Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, is a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist in private practice in NY. She is board-certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and treats a wide variety of sleep, anxiety, and depression issues using evidence-based, non-medication treatments. In addition to her academic writings and research on insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and circadian issues, she is the author of two popular self-help books, The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia (2019) and The Essential Guide to Children’s Sleep (2025).

Dr. Harris holds an academic appointment as Clinical Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Neurology and Psychiatry. Before going into private practice, she was the longstanding director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Sleep-Wake Center at Montefiore Medical Center in NYC. Dr. Harris has been an invited columnist for the New York Times, and is frequently in the media, including the New Yorker, Washington Post, CBS Mornings, Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Drew Barrymore Show.

Dr. Harris can be found on Instagram at @SleepDocShelby where she provides evidence-based information about sleep wellness and sleep disorders.