Everyone who has been diagnosed with sleep apnea knows how frustrating and tiring it can be. You need sleep in order to stay healthy and happy. There are effective ways of treating this condition. Read on for advice on treating your sleep apnea.
Get a mouth guard to help you sleep at night. A mouth guard opens your airway and facilitate nighttime breathing. Consult with a doctor or get a mouth guard made if you are suffering.
If you want real assistance with sleep apnea at night, talk to a physician about the optimal CPAP machine for you. Factors such as the machine’s noise level and its size are important to consider. The newer CPAP machines are much smaller and quieter than earlier ones were. Your doctor will be familiar with them, so be sure to tap his knowledge.
Make yourself wear your CPAP for four hours while you sleep, at the least. Some individuals have a lot of trouble getting used to CPAP masks in their sleep. Good health over the long term is what is important, and you need to build up the amount of time you use it until you can use it throughout the night. Try two hours at first if you must. The next week you should increase that amount to 4 hours. In the end, you should never use it less than 4 hours per night on a permanent basis.
Shed a bit of weight if you can. Studies have shown sleep apnea and obesity can be related. Therefore, if you are obese, a loss of just 25 pounds can cause a major improvement in your apnea symptoms.
Try to sleep on your sides to keep sleep apnea from ruining your sleep. Our airways can get obstructed if we sleep while on our backs. Try to fall asleep on one of your sides to see if your symptoms get better.
Playing with some wind instruments can help get rid of your sleep apnea. Researchers in Germany have found playing a didgeridoo can make your throat muscles stronger. Upper airway muscles manage dilation and stiffening of airway walls. There are also throat exercises you can practice, including blowing up a balloon, if you do not want to buy a didgeridoo.
You may have to maintain a sleep log for your doctor to diagnose your condition. This log is where you’ll keep track of how much you sleep during the night, and other symptoms you may experience. Ask your partner for more specific information on how loud your snoring is, the quality of your breathing and even how restful you were. This makes it easier for the doctor to diagnose your condition.
Mouth Guard
If you wear a CPAP for your sleep apnea symptoms, but are still bothered by your mouth opening when you try to sleep, get a chin strap. It is only a small fabric strap that keeps your chin in place so you can sleep with a closed mouth. The CPAP only works if the mouth is closed, so try using the strap.
Have a mouth guard made for you. Guards like these are specifically made for assisting sleep apnea patients. Instead of using a CPAP device, you can use a mouth guard. It will provide stability and help your airway to remain open.
Bring your CPAP on all the trips you go on during your travels. When you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you should not go even one night without using your CPAP. The machine you are using should have a travel bag that is padded. This will help ease transporting your CPAP machine if you must be away.
Try sleeping in a different position (such as on the side) rather than on your back. Many people who have sleep apnea also sleep looking straight up. When you sleep, your throat muscles relax, and back sleeping causes gravity to pull the relaxed muscles downward, restricting airflow. Instead, you should sleep on your side and that can help your breathe much better. If you usually sleep on your back, make a conscious effort to change your ways.
If you have tried many treatment options and nothing works, then it is time to contact your doctor for more serious treatment alternatives. There are surgical procedures that have proven to be highly effective in severe sleep apnea cases, such as airway enlargement and the removal of the adenoids or (if they’re still present) the tonsils.
Keeping a sleep log can help your doctor diagnose you with sleep apnea. In it, you’ll be expected to log the hours you sleep nightly, any symptoms you may feel and the overall quality of your sleep. Your partner can often say if you jerk limbs around, stop breathing for a second, or snore loudly. This makes it easier for the doctor to diagnose your condition.
Stop putting yourself at risk for sleep apnea. Some of these are unavoidable, like gender or genetics. If you are an alcoholic, a smoker or are overweight, changing these factors may eliminate your sleep apnea.
Use a chin strap if you find your mouth continuing to fall open while you sleep with a CPAP machine. This is a small piece of fabric that holds your chin up while you sleep and keeps you mouth closed. Use this device to solve this annoying problem, as leaving it unfixed will make your CPAP therapy ineffective.
Shedding weight oftentimes is a big help to anyone who is dealing with sleep apnea. For people who are overweight, sleep apnea is much more prevalent especially people with a larger neck circumference. Losing weight can significantly reduce the pressure on your airway and improve the flow of air as you breathe at night.
Sleep Apnea
You can cut down on the sleep apnea symptoms you experience by making your throat muscles stronger. Relaxed or excessive tissue can obstruct air passages and make breathing difficult. When your muscles get stronger, chances becomes less that they will collapse and cause a blockage in the airways.
Lose weight to prevent developing sleep apnea. Many sufferers of sleep apnea have found that shedding their unwanted pounds makes their sleep apnea go away entirely. Just losing a little bit of weight can go a long way in improving the symptoms of sleep apnea and opening up breathing passage ways.
Don’t drink a lot of alcohol if you have sleep apnea. When you drink, the alcohol causes the muscles in your throat to relax, which will impede your airway and cause snoring. You should either quit drinking, or make sure you only have a single drink a long time before you sleep. This will ensure alcohol doesn’t affect your sleep.
Weight loss can be a big help for those that suffer from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is linked to people who are overweight. Losing weight can significantly reduce the pressure on your airway and improve the flow of air as you breathe at night.
Whatever you do, don’t sleep on your back. Sew something lumpy onto your pajamas to make sure you do not roll onto your back. Then, when they try to roll on their back while sleeping, the uncomfortable ball stops them.
Anyone with sleep apnea needs treatment, as it won’t disappear by itself. Each patient is different and what works for one person may not work for another. Some sleep apnea sufferers can deal with their symptoms by getting rid of excess weight, but there are also people with the condition who aren’t overweight. Millions of sleep apnea sufferers find relief from non-surgical options like CPAP machines. Even the simplest surgery carries some risk, so it is best to consider surgery as a last option. Regardless of the method you use, obtaining some type of treatment is essential to living a higher quality of life with this condition.
Most of the time sleep apnea causes anxiety, and if this is bothering you, then consider a nice warm bath before going to bed each night. The warm water will relax and soothe your muscles. This leaves you ready for a restful night’s sleep and decreases the risk of a sleep apnea incident.
By now, it should be apparent that sleep apnea can be handled. Use what you’ve learned in the previous paragraphs to sleep like a baby. You may be surprised by how dramatic a difference it makes in your life to be well-rested and energized at the start of the day.
If you suspect you are suffering from sleep apnea, schedule a sleep test with your doctor. A sleep test can diagnose both your sleep apnea and its severity. Then, you can find the right treatment for your situation based off of the facts.