If you have sleep apnea, you understand how troublesome it can be. It is very important that in order to lead a happy and healthy life, you are getting a good amount of quality sleep each night. All is not lost – there are options available to you. The article below has some ideas that can help.
Do you have a smoking or drinking habit? Break these unhealthy habits right away. They may hurt your air passages. Smoking swells up your airways while alcohol relaxes them. Both of these things can result in sleep apnea. Eliminate drinking or smoking before bedtime if you can’t avoid them entirely.
If your sleep apnea is the result of narrow airways, try using a mouth guard when you sleep. Mouth guards help you breathe more throughout the night, which will reduce sleep apnea symptoms from arising. Talk to your physician about a mouth guard you can wear during sleep to help you control your condition.
Talk to your physician about the possibility of a mouth piece to correct your sleep. If you have a recessed chin or a small jaw, these conditions can greatly increase your sleep apnea symptoms. There are a number of different devices to correct for these issues. Simply aligning your jaw may be all that is necessary.
Do you smoke and drink? Quit these terrible habits. These substances can really harm your airways. Smoking can actually swell your airways while alcohol can overly relax them; each causes sleep apnea. Eliminate drinking or smoking before bedtime if you can’t avoid them entirely.
Did you know that sleep apnea can afflict children? If you find your child is innatentive, always tired or uses their mouth to breath and not their nose, they may suffer from this condition. Sometimes parents mistakenly think these symptoms have to do with something like ADHD, and it is best that you talk to your child’s doctor to find the true culprit.
You may be able to improve or eliminate your symptoms by quitting smoking and/or drinking. Both of these habits are bad for the muscles in your air passage and can worsen apnea. Some people resort to invasive surgeries to correct their sleep apnea without realizing that discontinuing these bad habits could have been a more simple and much cheaper route!
Normally sleep apnea is diagnosed after getting a physical exam, but it also helps to study your family’s medical history to see if it’s prevalent among your relatives. There are hundreds of studies that show sleep apnea has effected many families together, and this might be something that you cannot escape.
Sleep Apnea
If you aren’t sleeping with a partner each night who can let you know of any irregularities in your sleeping patterns, it can be hard to know if you have this condition. Or you can record yourself as you sleep to look at your sleeping patterns. Remember that recording audio is equally important; medical professionals can tell a great deal from the sounds you make while you sleep.
Using a wind instrument can be a huge help in treating your sleep apnea. Instruments like the didgeridoo can help you relieve yourself from sleep apnea conditions. These muscles are responsible for the strength of your airway passage and its ability to dilate. This is why playing this instrument regularly will help strengthen these muscles, and reduce snoring and sleep apnea symptoms.
Should you suffer from sleep apnea, keep a regular sleep schedule. Your regular sleeping patterns already suffer due to your condition. Try your best to get a regular sleep pattern after you find out you have sleep apnea, this will help your overall health improve. The biggest parts are going to bed and getting up at the identical times each and every day.
Try using a mouth guard to help you sleep. Fitted mouth guards help people sleep through the night. This is a good alternative to using the CPAP machine. Invest into a mouth guard instead of having a loud machine keep others up at night.
Don’t use more than one standard pillow. Your sleeping position can be affected negatively by multiple pillows or an over-sized one. Pillows that lift your head can cramp the airways that you need to be open to be able to breathe properly as you sleep. Because of this you should only use one pillow for easier sleeping.
Children are susceptible to sleep apnea. When you notice that your child wakes up tired each day, is hard to wake up in the morning, is angry or rude or their grades are suffering at school, poor sleep due to sleep apnea could be the culprit. Often these symptoms are similar to ADHD, but you need to talk to a physician and consider sleep apnea as a cause as well.
It is fine to get a CPAP machine, it’s natural for sleep apnea sufferers. 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. 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.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, avoid sleeping pills. You will relax your throat muscles this way and you will not get as much from your sleep. The medication can be very dangerous, even fatal, if you suffer from sleep apnea.
Try sleeping on your side to reduce sleep apnea as back sleeping only worsens the symptoms. One trick to prevent yourself from accidentally rolling onto your back in the night is to attach a lumpy object to the back of your pajamas. Doing this makes back sleeping uncomfortable.
Take what steps you can to reduce the risk factors of sleep apnea you’re subject to. While some people suffer from sleep apnea due to genetic factors, others have it because of their lifestyle. But, there are other things you can do to cut out risks such as not smoking or drinking heavily, and also managing your weight.
When going on long trips, inform the airline that you need to take your CPAP machine if you use one. The majority of carriers will make the necessary accommodations, so that you can bring along and use your device. Try to remember to bring the appropriate adapters for foreign flights.
Your doctor should make a certain diagnosis of your sleep apnea, but there are ways you can help yourself too. Giving up tobacco use and losing excess weight are good health choices in general, and they’re particularly effective in reducing the symptoms of sleep apnea. If it is within a few hours of bedtime, stay away from caffeine, alcohol or a heavy meal.
Sleep apnea sufferers may need to look for a simple solution in order to get a better night’s rest. Fixing your sleeping schedule and sticking to a regular bedtime every night can be a great help. Your bedroom environment should be conducive to sleeping. If you are trying to rest in a loud setting, you can miss valuable sleep.
Contact the airline you will be flying on if you are flying overseas and will need to sleep on the airplane. They will usually accommodate you by giving you a seat where you can easily get to your machine. If you fly a foreign carrier, be sure to pack a power adapter.
You aren’t always going to be aware of your sleep apnea. You may experience daytime drowsiness, exhaustion, a lack of daytime focus that may signal problems with sleep apnea. It may be the daytime symptoms that you notice that lead you to find out that it is apnea that is causing them.
As you now know, there are various treatments that are effective at treating sleep apnea. Use these tips to help you get the rest you need. Once you’re able to get enough sleep, you’ll have a better quality of life in a lot of ways.
Do not procrastinate in searching for a treatment. Start now! Sleep apnea can be potentially dangerous if it left untreated. Don’t let time slip past you; take action now and you should find a solution to all of your sleep apnea problems.