Anyone with sleep apnea can attest to the misery it can cause. In the end, it is important to have some basic information to decrease or eliminate the stressful symptoms which disrupt nightly sleep. Anyone who wants to expand their overall base of knowledge on the subject of sleep apnea is likely to find the following article quite helpful.
Ask your doctor for advice about what CPAP machine you should get. The noise level of a CPAP machine and its overall size are both points to take into consideration. Some machines are very quiet and no bigger than a simple bread box. Your doctor can help you pick a manufacturer for a good quality machine.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, avoid using sleeping pills. These pills can cause your throat muscles to relax and keep your airways from properly functioning. This can be deadly when combined with sleep apnea. Sleeping pills are a bad idea.
Try losing weight if you are obese. Sleep apnea is directly associated with excess weight. For this reason, losing as little as 25 pounds could resolve your sleep apnea problems even if you would actually need to lose quite a bit more to attain your ideal weight.
If your sleep apnea doesn’t improve after anything you’ve tried, you may need to discuss more drastic options with your doctor. Some people have poor luck with typical sleep apnea treatments, and resort to a surgical treatment that entails the removal of the adenoids and tonsils, or the enlargement of the airway.
Don’t take sleeping pills if you can avoid it. The muscles in your throat relax too much when you use a sedative like sleeping pills, (or alcohol) and your airway is much more likely to collapse during sleep. They may also cause complications for sleep apnea patients. Consult your physician to find out about possible ways to get to sleep to faster that won’t react poorly with your sleep apnea.
Risk Factors
Sleep while on your side. Some sleep apnea patients lay on their backs. If you sleep flat on your back you are only exasperating your breathing problem by allowing your throat muscles to relax and move down. Breathing is much simpler when you sleep on one of your sides. A large body pillow can help keep you from rolling to your back in the middle of the night.
You can reduce the risk factors for sleep apnea. Some risk factors, which include being male and family history, are innate and unchangeable. Being overweight, drinking, smoking and weak throat muscles can all bring on sleep apnea.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and have a problem with your mouth opening while sleeping with your CPAP, a chin strap may be able to help. A chin strap is a fabric strip that prevents your chin from falling during the night, which in turn keeps your mouth closed. CPAP devices don’t work well when your mouth is wide open, so this device can help.
Quit smoking if you suffer from sleep apnea. Smoking cause the airways to swell, making sleep apnea worse. Second-hand smoke is just as damaging to the respiratory system as first-hand smoke. The first month is often the hardest for most smokers. Following that time, the nicotine will start leaving your body, and you’ll have decreased cravings.
Are you not having any success at improving your symptoms of sleep apnea? If so, then visit your doctor and ask him or her about other options you can utilize. If less invasive treatments do not work, it is sometimes necessary to perform surgical procedures such as adenoid and tonsil removal and/or airway enlargement.
Use tongue and throat exercises as a way to combat sleep apnea. For example, try this: press your tongue up against your upper palate, and hold it for about three minutes. This can improve the strength of your tongue and throat muscles and decrease the chance that they will relax too much and cause breathing difficulty.
An excellent way to help lessen the effects of sleep apnea is by losing weight. There are a number of people who only need to lose a few pounds to entirely stop their sleep apnea episodes. You can have relief from sleep apnea symptoms by losing as little as 10 pounds.
Avoid heavy drinking when sleep apnea is a problem. When drinking alcohol it causes the muscles in your throat to relax, which results in snoring and blocked airways. If you can, avoid all alcohol or make sure not to drink at all at least 4 hours before bedtime. That way, your sleep will not be affected.
Be sure to use just one, normal-sized pillow when you sleep. Having too many pillows, or one gigantic one, may interfere with good breathing posture. These mean you sleep in positions where it is hard to breathe. This is why one pillow is best to manage your symptoms.
Wind Instrument
You might want to look into anti-snoring devices. Snoring is caused by your airway closing; apnea is when your air passage has closed all together. Therefore, it is only sensible that a stop snoring device might also help with sleep apnea. Using a device that reduces your snoring will help you sleep better.
Playing a wind instrument can help. This will provide you with considerable enjoyment of the relaxing music, as well as exercising the specific muscles involved with sleep apnea problems. By playing a wind instrument you are strengthening these muscles, making it easier for you to manage them and lessening the severity of your sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea never just disappears of its own free will; you have to do something about it. Each patient is different and what works for one person may not work for another. Getting to a lower weight can cut back on symptoms in a lot of sufferers, but even slender folks can be afflicted. Some other options include CPAP machines or other devices. However, other people prefer having surgery where they can make changes in overcoming restrictions in the airway passages. However you go about it, get help and your quality of life will improve.
Don’t be embarrassed about using a CPAP machine or getting treatment. Millions of people around the world use them, and you should ignore anyone who teases you about it. Keep in mind that using your CPAP machine is in your best interest, and if anyone makes fun of you, you should probably find better friends.
Stop smoking as soon as you find out you have sleep apnea. Smoking can cause the upper airway to swell, which exacerbates sleep apnea. Quitting can be handled through a cessation program or even nicotine replacement programs. The hardest period for the majority of smokers is the initial 30 days upon quitting. Once you are past that point, your nicotine cravings lessen drastically.
Your sleep position can impact the severity of sleep apnea. Try sleeping on your side or your stomach to decrease the condition. Elevate your body by placing a foam wedge under it. Another option is raising your bed’s top a minimum of four inches.
A great method of reducing your sleep apnea symptoms is strengthening your throat muscles. The reduced airflow characteristic of sleep apnea is due to soft tissue in the throat relaxing. As your strengthen your muscles, you will have more control over them.
If you have sleep apnea, or if you just snore a lot, playing an instrument may be beneficial. It is soothing, and a German study showed that using these instruments can strengthen your throat muscles. Mastering this music form means you can retain control of your respiratory system.
A CPAP machine is a common treatment tool for sleep apnea; if you use one, you should also ask your physician about getting a heated humidifier. You are much more likely to have a good night’s sleep and stick with your CPAP therapy if the air being delivered is warm and moist. If you think you may need to use a humidifier in conjunction with your CPAP machine, talk to your doctor first.
There are many simple solutions people suffering from sleep apnea can use to get better quality sleep. Target a specific time for bed and be consistent with it nightly. Be sure to set up your bedroom in a way that promotes restful sleep. If your room is not comfortable, you will have a hard time resting.
If you have to use a CPAP machine, you should not have to hide it from others because you are embarrassed. Make people aware that your life would be much worse with the machine. Also, don’t be afraid to use the machine in front of others, including friends and your spouse. Always know that the CPAP machine is something that you need which can help you, and if someone looks down upon you for using it, then they weren’t your friends anyway.
If sleep apnea is something that you are afflicted with, you might want to try the throat exercises known to improve the condition. The muscles surrounding your airway get stronger, and that means they are less likely to collapse and make it hard to breathe. One such exercise is to use your tongue and press on the top of your mouth. Maintain this pressure for around three minutes before releasing. Do this once a day.
Your sleep habits directly affect you and your sleep apnea. It’s important to find the best position for you to sleep in. Take a foam wedge to lift the top of your body up. Talk to your doctor about other ways of sleeping that will be beneficial to you.
Sleep Apnea
Learning to play a wind instrument can be an effective control strategy for those who snore or have sleep apnea symptoms. This is good for your soul, and playing a wood instrument will reduce sleep apnea issues. This hobby will keep your airways under your control.
Back sleepers make up the majority of sleep apnea sufferers. If you sleep on your back with sleep apnea the change this right away. Many studies indicate that if you sleep on your side, it will help with your sleep apnea.
As soon as you think that you do have sleep apnea you are going to want to make a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible. This sleep test will help diagnose your sleep apnea and give you an idea of its severity. Following the evaluation you can begin to look at treatment options, no matter how mild your case may be.
Continue to consult your doctor even after your diagnosis for sleep apnea. He can chart your progress and keep you abreast of the latest developments in sleep therapy. If you try something new, follow-up with your doctor in about a month so you can tell him how the treatment is working.
Work out the muscles in your jaw and throat. Sleep apnea can be exacerbated by weak muscles in your throat, so taking the time to strengthen them can help you manage your apnea. That could be all it takes.
Finding an effective remedy for coping with the daily fight against sleep apnea is an ongoing search. Information and understanding is critical for anyone hoping to curtail the symptoms of sleep apnea. With the useful information in this article, you can finally get down to the business of resolving your issues with sleep apnea.
Do not have an alcoholic drink close to your bedtime. Alcohol can worsen sleep disorders, like sleep apnea. This is because alcohol is a sedative and it suppresses your central nervous system. This makes it harder for your body to wake up and start breathing again when you have an apnea episode. You could have a bad time sleeping by doing this.