If you have sleep apnea, you need to know what your options are. Do you know what is best for you? Learning the right information means continuing to thoroughly read this article.
Try getting rid of bad habits to better your sleep apnea. If you drink and smoke, it can make your sleep apnea worse. Drinking depresses the respiratory system and can cause severe breathing issues. Cigarettes inject carcinogens into your respiratory system. Doing away with both of these bad habits will help do away with your sleep apnea symptoms.
Sleep Apnea
If you have sleep apnea, yet you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, quitting could alleviate your symptoms. Both smoking and drinking promote relaxation of the airways causing sleep apnea and excessive snoring. While quitting these habits may not stop your sleep apnea episodes entirely, you will be healthier overall and save money at the same time.
A common reason that people have sleep apnea is due to the extra pounds on their bodies. If you suffer from sleep apnea and are overweight, try losing a few pounds. Try changing your diet and ramp up your activity level. Reducing carbs in the diet may also help.
You must use your CPAP at least 4 hours nightly after receiving your unit. Although it can be difficult to become accustomed to wearing a CPAP, it is an important tool in improving sleep apnea. In order for your CPAP therapy to be effective, you need to use it at least four hours a day. If it is hard and become difficult to adjust to in the beginning, then ensure you are using it at least four hours a night.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and you smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, quitting could improve your symptoms. These habits can cause your throat muscles to relax or swell, increasing sleep apnea. Quitting these addictions may be the easiest way to address your sleep apnea.
Eating healthier foods can help you deal with sleep apnea. Most people would find it surprising to know that your diet can be a factor in managing sleep apnea. It’s been proven that poor diets can contribute to the severity of sleep apnea.
Talk to your doctor about getting a fitted sleep mouth guard. You may have a naturally narrow breathing passage, small jaw or recessed chin that can amplify the effects of sleep apnea. Mouth pieces can help align your jaw in the proper way, which will provide you with high-quality sleep.
Sleep on your side, as it can help lessen your sleep apnea symptoms. When you sleep on your back, the airways get obstructed due to the throat and nasal passages being more prone to obstruction. Try to fall asleep on one of your sides to see if your symptoms get better.
Lose a few pounds if you happen to be overweight and suffer from sleep apnea. Although it might not be the main cause, being overweight makes sleep apnea worse. Therefore, if you are obese, a loss of just 25 pounds can cause a major improvement in your apnea symptoms.
If you do not have a partner to let you know how you sleep at night, it can be difficult to assess if you have sleep apnea. You can remedy this problem by setting up a recorder that can film you while you’re sleeping at night. Make sure you have audio on your video so you and your doctor can hear the noises you make in your sleep.
Eating right can keep you healthy and well rested. It may surprise you how much eating poorly can affect your sleep apnea symptoms. It has been shown in studies that those who eat unhealthier foods face more severe sleep apnea than their overweight, yet healthy-eating, counterparts.
If you have sinus or allergy issues, this may be causing your sleep apnea. Your condition already causes you to have trouble breathing while you sleep. You must eliminate anything that might obstruct your airway as you sleep. Keep your throat and airway as clear as you possibly can at all times.
Limit your alcohol consumption. Your muscles are relaxed by drinking alcohol. Even though you may enjoy the relaxing effects, this can contribute to sleep apnea events. Alcohol can relax the muscles in your throat, making it more difficult for your body to control your airway. Reduce the frequency of your alcohol if you do continue to use it, and never drink close to bedtime.
If you have a stuffy nose, use a saline spray or neti pot. It helps to clear the nasal passages and airways to let you sleep more soundly. Remember that nasal sprays should only be used on a temporary basis to avoid nasal damage and irritation. Ask your pharmacist what other options you can try to keep your nasal passages clear.
Sleep apnea can occur in adults or children; there is no age limit. If a child in your home shows symptoms like low grades in school, hostility, irritability, hyperactivity, inattention or mouth breathing, you should consider sleep apnea as a possibility to investigate. A lot of sleep apnea symptoms are associated with ADHD, so work with your doctor to investigate all possibilities.
Look for devices that help to alleviate snoring. Snoring is caused by mostly-closed airways, and apnea is fully-closed airways. It is understandable that something can help this. Use an anti-snoring device when you sleep.
Don’t underestimate the potential health consequences of sleep apnea. If you experience symptoms of sleep apnea, don’t delay the conversation with your doctor. If the doctor determines you are suffering with sleep apnea, you should consult with someone who specializes in this disorder in order to effectively treat the condition.
How you sleep can affect your condition. Having a proper sleep position is necessary. Try taking a foam wedge and using it to raise the top half of your body. You could also try raising your head up about four inches.
Test out sleeping on the side. Sleeping on your back is more likely to cause snoring and apnea. When you sleep on your back, you are warping the shape of your airways. It’s easier to breathe when looking to the side. You may want to prop yourself up with pillows so you stay on your side.
The best position to sleep when suffering from sleep apnea is on your side. One way to keep yourself off your back while you sleep is to sew a pocket into the back of your pajamas and tuck something lumpy into it (a tennis ball is ideal). Doing this will make sleeping on your back very uncomfortable.
Avoid sleeping pills when you suffer from sleep apnea. You may find these pills are causing your muscles in your throat to relax and this obstructs your airways. Sleep medicines can cause more problems and can even be dangerous for people with apnea.
If you are going on a long plane trip, call the airline you will be traveling with to ensure that you can bring your CPAP machine on the plane. Most carriers will make sure they seat you with plenty of room to accommodate your machine. If flying on a foreign plane, remember to bring along a power adapter.
If you are using a CPAP to treat sleep apnea, be sure to take it when you’re going to the hospital. Whether the hospital stay is a planned one or it’s just an emergency room visit, always bring along the CPAP machines just in case you need to stay for awhile. It will be a lot easier and more comfortable if you bring yours instead of using one at the hospital. This will make your stay a little more comfortable.
Sleep apnea is stressful. Baths can help. When you bathe in hot water, it calms your muscles and melts away tension. This will help you get to sleep and stay asleep rather than having constant sleep apnea interruptions.
Use a single, average-sized pillow for your head at night. When you sleep on a pile of pillows, or one extremely thick pillow, your chin is pushed down toward your neck and restricts your air flow. Your body is in an unnatural position and breathing becomes difficult. Because of this you should only use one pillow for easier sleeping.
Take immediate steps to seek relief from your sleep apnea. If you do not go to a doctor and find a treatment, your symptoms will probably worsen over the years. Don’t let time slip past you; take action now and you should find a solution to all of your sleep apnea problems.
Patients who suffer from sleep apnea might want to consider losing weight as a means to relieve the symptoms. Being overweight and large around the neck are often indications of sleep apnea. Your breathing will be improved once you lose weight because the pressure will be reduced on the airway and your airflow will be increased.
Sleep apnea is really a problem with your throat, not your nose, this is why you should try and increase strength in your throat muscles. If you wish to learn how to make your throat muscles stronger, you can do several simple and quick exercises.
How you sleep each night can determine the quality of sleep you get and how bad your sleep apnea really is. It’s important to find the best position for you to sleep in. Put a foam wedge under yourself to lift up your body. Or, if you can, raise the top of your bed by at least four inches.
Sleep apnea becomes an even bigger problem if you are chronically fatigued. To reduce your sleep apnea symptoms, be sure to follow a regular sleep routine. Set a specific bedtime, and specific wake time, and try to adhere to them both. Taking control of your apnea immediately will keep it from becoming uncontrollable.
If sleep apnea is causing you anxiety, soak in a bath before bedtime each night. Taking a hot bath can relieve the tension in your muscles. You will find it easier to fall asleep and get a good night’s rest uninterrupted by sleep apnea.
Avoid alcohol, especially before you go to sleep. Alcohol can make a lot of disorders regarding sleep much worse, including sleep apnea. It suppresses the nervous system so that can make the apnea worse, and it makes it harder to wake up when breathing stops. This can be a fatal combination of conditions.
Prevent falling asleep on your back. Sleeping while flat on your back often results in airway constriction, reducing the amount of sleep you get. Try sleeping on your side, however, if this is not natural to you, then prop yourself up with pillows in order to force yourself into sleeping on your side every night.
Don’t use opioid or narcotic medicines if you suffer from sleep apnea. These medications can decrease oxygen levels in anyone. This can seriously hurt the amount of oxygen you get in a night if you have sleep apnea.
Information is a powerful tool. When you know what you can do to combat sleep apnea you can apply it to live better. There is an abundance of things to learn about sleep apnea and this article is a good starting point.
Do not forget to treat any other breathing problems. You need to pay attention to other breathing problems as well if you are afflicted with sleep apnea. Limit exposure to outside allergens and always take your allergy medications to keep your allergies from producing symptoms. Get a flu shot every year and treat any respiratory illnesses immediately to avoid worsening your sleep apnea.