Many people, the old and young alike, suffer from sleep apnea which is a life-threatening condition. Most people don’t know how to handle this frustrating condition. This article will give you suggestions on how you can control your symptoms and get to sleep with comfort.
One thing that affects sleep apena is obesity. The obvious solution is to lose the excess weight. Diet and exercise can do wonders to treat this condition. Some amount of carbohydrate restriction is beneficial for many who are trying to lose weight as well.
Drop some vices to combat sleep apnea. Alcohol and cigarettes are two of the primary culprits. Alcohol can put you into a very deep sleep and depress your respiration. Smoking damages all parts of your airways. If you can give up these bad habits, you’ll see a significant reduction in your sleep apnea symptoms.
If you have sleep apnea and you’re overweight, try shedding those pounds. Obesity has clearly been linked with sleep apnea in multiple studies. If you are obese, even shedding 25 pounds can provide a drastic improvement in your symptoms.
Overweight people are prone to suffering from sleep apnea. If this applies, it is is important to shed some excess weight. Exercising and following a regular weight loss plan is the best strategy. Restriction of carbohydrates is shown to help those wanting to shed pounds.
Cut back on your alcohol consumption. Your muscles get relaxed too much. You might like the feeling, but it can contribute to or cause sleep apnea. Your muscles will relax and collapse, which will make you snore and possibly cough through the night. If drinking is an important part of your life, restrict the amount of alcohol you consume and drink it earlier in the day.
Bad Habits
Sleep apnea sufferers often benefit from laying on their side during sleep. Back sleeping promotes airway obstruction. If you can get to sleep lying on your side (and stay that way through the night), you may well experience a much less trouble night.
Do you smoke or drink? Lose all your bad habits. These substances influence your airways. Alcohol can relax airways while smoking can cause them to swell, both of which can cause you to have sleep apnea. If you find that you just can’t give these bad habits up, do what you can to not do either of them within four hours of your bedtime.
Avoid sleeping pills if you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea. You could seriously damage your air passage ways if you take them while you have sleep apnea. Avoid them at all costs to prevent yourself from hurting your body any more.
If you’re having a problem with sleep apnea and are a smoker or a drinker, you may find that quitting can help you immensely. Both of these bad habits make the airways relax too much, making sleep apnea worse. Cutting out these habits actually saves you money, unlike other costly alternatives like surgery.
If you’re dealing with sleep apnea, it’s important to set a regular sleep schedule for yourself. Remember, your sleep is already being disrupted by your condition. Using simple sleep hygiene techniques like this one will help you avoid health problems and falling asleep during the day. Try retiring and waking at consistent times.
Sleep Apnea
Always have your CPAP machine with you while you sleep, even if it happens to be during a hospital stay. If your stay is planned or an emergency, you will need your CPAP device either way. While they may have a machine for you to use, your machine is already preset for your specific settings and has the mask you are already accustomed to wearing. Even if you are hospitalized, you can seamlessly continue using your CPAP in this manner.
Try losing weight if you are obese. It is widely known that being overweight is the cause of sleep apnea for some people. Alternatively, if you shed twenty five pounds you can see a tremendous improvement in the symptoms of sleep apnea, especially if you are dealing with obesity.
An excellent method of reducing your sleep apnea symptoms is simply losing some weight. Sleep apnea symptoms can be reduced or eliminated by taking off those extra pounds. Simply losing a small amount of weight can open your airways, improving your sleep apnea symptoms.
To fight sleep apnea, try to eat a healthy diet. Not everyone is aware of just how significantly bad dietary choices can affect a sleep apnea condition. In past studies,it has been shown that those that eat improper foods have worse sleep apnea than those that eat healthy, but are overweight.
If your nose is bothering you, use a nasal spray. You will get relief from this for a little while. However, never use this spray over a long period of time, since it can cause your nose to irritated and damaged. Talk to your pharmacist about your options.
Don’t drink alcohol to excess. Your muscles are relaxed by drinking alcohol. Although you may think this improves your sleep, it actually just worsens it. Alcohol will relax the throat muscles, which ends up making it harder for the body to control the airways. Reduce the frequency of your alcohol if you do continue to use it, and never drink close to bedtime.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, do not underestimate the power of losing a few pounds. People who are overweight or have a larger than normal neck circumference may be prone to sleep apnea. Even a modest amount of weight loss can increase air flow and decrease airway pressure.
Of course, for a solid diagnosis of sleep apnea, you must see a doctor. Nonetheless, healthy, self-help techniques may help and won’t hurt. Quitting smoking and losing weight are great for anyone, but are even better for sleep apnea patients. Curtail alcohol, heavy foods and caffeine before bedtime also.
Strengthening your throat muscles can be very effective in reducing sleep apnea symptoms as well. Sleep apnea is commonly caused by the throat becoming obstructed because the soft tissues collapse near the back of your throat. Strong muscles are less likely to constrict airways.
One way to help with sleep apnea is to quit smoking. Smoking aggravates air passages. To quit, try using nicotine replacement treatment or a cessation program. The first month is the hardest part. Then you get less cravings as more and more nicotine leaves the body.
Do not drink too much alcohol if you have sleep apnea. Drinking alcohol can cause your throat to relax which can make sleep apnea worse. Don’t drink close to bedtime. You will make sure that your sleep is not affected by the alcohol.
Exercises done with the tongue reduce sleep apnea symptoms. If you press your tongue up and hold it there for a short period of time, it will help. This increases the strength of the muscles in your tongue and throat, which means they won’t relax as much during the night.
Start playing wind instruments. Playing a wind instrument exercises your throat muscles to make breathing easier and gives you the pleasure of beautiful music at the same time. Making these muscles stronger reduces sleep apnea symptoms.
Avoid excessive drinking if you are a sleep apnea sufferer. Drinking can relax the throat muscles too much, and that can cause airways to be blocked as well as snoring. Don’t drink close to bedtime. You don’t need alcohol to compound your issues with sleep apnea, and following this advice will help alleviate that.
If you are using a CPAP when dealing with sleep apnea, get your doctor to prescribe you a heated humidifier. Warm, moist air will make you more comfortable at night and allow you to sleep well. A humidifier can be an important part of your CPAP machine, so ask your doctor about a machine that handles both functions.
Remember that you need not feel embarrassed by your CPAP machine and your treatments. Inform those that need to know about it, and don’t feel uncomfortable using your CPAP around those close to you. They want you healthy. If the people around you give you trouble regarding the use of your machine, you may need a better group of friends.
People who snore or even those who have sleep apnea may benefit if they learn to play a musical instrument. A study in Germany proved that playing a Didgeridoo can reduce sleep apnea symptoms and induce other soothing effects. This will help clear your airways.
Remember, it’s not easy to spot your own sleep apnea when sleeping. If you’re having difficulty in staying awake during the day, especially while you are behind the wheel, immediately talk to your doctor. Those symptoms might be part of what you’re experiencing as sleep apnea.
Remember that you may not consciously realize you are having a sleep apnea episode. You should tell your doctor about any symptoms of fatigue, drowsiness or nodding off while driving. Although you are not likely to realize that you are fighting for air every night as you sleep, you may very well have developed sleep apnea.
When you think you may be a sleep apnea sufferer, it’s important to talk with a physician so they can schedule you for a sleep testing, if necessary. This test will determine if you have sleep apnea and how severe your condition is. The next step is to find a treatment for your problem, even if you have a very mild case of sleep apnea.
Even after you receive a diagnosis of sleep apnea, regularly consult your physician. Your doctor should be able to provide you with helpful information and tips on your health condition. After you have tried a specific treatment, make sure you let your doctor know what worked for you and what didn’t.
Try staying away from going to bed on your back when you have a sleep apnea condition. If you sleep on your back, the likelihood that your airways will constrict during the night increases dramatically. Side sleeping is highly recommended if you suffer from sleep apnea. This way, gravity is not working against you quite as much.
Try exercising your throat and jaw. You have to work on your internal muscles and get them strong in order to deal with sleep apnea. Just a couple of exercises can greatly improve your symptoms.
If sleep apnea keeps you awake at night, take a nap during the day to compensate for lost sleep. When you don’t get the proper sleep you need, it can cause a range of dangerous medical conditions over time. If you can, take a small nap during the day so that you can get more rest.
If you deal with sleep apnea on a daily basis, try taking a nap during the day to help with the lack of sleep at night. Sleep deprivation can cause serious health risks and can negatively impact your ability to go about your day-to-day routine. If you are excessively tired due to your sleep apnea symptoms, try to get a nap in during the afternoon to help you recoup the lost sleep.
As was stated earlier, sleep apnea afflicts many individuals. Without properly educating yourself about sleep apnea, you won’t know how to fix this condition. On the other hand, armed with the right ideas and advice, like the contents of this article, you can control your condition.
You may benefit from a specially fitted mouth guard. You may have an unusually shaped mouth or jaw that is keeping your from breathing correctly while you sleep. These mouth guards help to re-position the tongue, teeth or jaw better so that you can breathe easier at night.