People who have had sleep apnea a while desperately want to eliminate this terrible condition. The truth of the matter is that remedy from sleep apnea symptoms will only come with proper education. The tips you’re about to read in this article will help you gain a better foundation when dealing with sleep apnea.
Meet with a doctor about what CPAP machine you should use. The noise level of a CPAP machine and its overall size are both points to take into consideration. Some machines are smaller than a bread box and can be whisper quiet. Your doctor can help you pick a manufacturer for a good quality machine.
Extra Weight
Do you regularly smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol? Take steps to eliminate these unhealthy habits. These items can harm your airways. Smoking and alcohol combined can definitely cause sleep apnea. If you are having trouble quitting either of these habits, at least try to abstain in the few hours before bedtime.
Extra weight is a primary cause of sleep apnea. In these cases, simply losing the extra weight can alleviate the symptoms. Diet and exercise can do wonders to treat this condition. Taking carbohydrates out of a diet is something that studies show helps people lose weight.
Taking up a musical instrument (especially a wind instrument) can have a positive effect on your sleep apnea. In Germany, research has been done that suggests playing the didgeridoo will train the muscles of the upper airway. These muscles are responsible for dilating your airway and causing the walls of the airway to stiffen. Therefore, you should regularly play these instruments due to the fact that they decrease your sleep apnea symptoms.
Quitting smoking and drinking can relieve sleep apnea symptoms. Alcohol relaxes the tongue and throat muscles, which can cause them to block your airway; smoking inflames the airway, causing it to narrow. Both of these habits can cause snoring and apnea. Cutting out these habits actually saves you money, unlike other costly alternatives like surgery.
Do not consume as much alcohol as you used to. Alcohol naturally relaxes your muscles. If the throat muscles are too relaxed, they can collapse and block your airway. Your throat muscles are relaxed by alcohol, making it harder to breathe at night. If you have to have a drink, do it well before bedtime.
Playing wind instruments can actually help you control sleep apnea. A German study has shown that playing wind instruments such as the digeridoo will help your sleep apnea. You’ll have better control over your airway’s dilation and the stiffness of the surrounding tissues if you exercise these muscles. This means that practicing regularly with a wind instrument will reduce the severity of sleep apnea symptoms that you experience.
Sleep apnea can be a serious disorder. Be aware of the symptoms of sleep apnea and consult your doctor if you are concerned. Then, if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, you can talk with a specialist and even use a sleep monitor to understand the severity.
Mouth guards can be custom fit. Guards like these are specifically made for assisting sleep apnea patients. They make a good substitute for CPAP machine use, and provide better nighttime comfort. The device assists you by keeping your airways open while offering stability for soft tissue.
Your doctor may suggest keeping a sleep journal to help pinpoint if you have sleep apnea or not. All hours slept or spent awake should be recorded. Ask your partner to note anything unusual noticed during the night while you were sleeping. Your doctor can use this information to determine if you actually suffer from sleep apnea.
If your doctor has prescribed a CPAP machine for you, make sure you use it every night, for at least 4 hours. Sleeping while using a CPAP can be difficult to adjust to at first, but it is not impossible. Use your CPAP as often as prescribed by your doctor, and make sure it fits properly. If you have a tough time with it, be sure you have the right size mask, and that the pressure is working right.
Should you suffer from sleep apnea, keep a regular sleep schedule. Your sleep disorder is already a sleep disrupter nightly. Whatever you can try to help minimize the effects of this condition and help to normalize your sleep patterns can only help you get better. Setting regular times for both going to sleep and waking up is the most important thing to do.
You really should cut down on your alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol relaxes the muscles of your throat and airway. Although some people do enjoy this, it can contribute to sleep apnea. 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.
Get a chin strap to keep your mouth closed when you are sleeping with a CPAP or BIPAP machine. It is a simple cloth strap that can easily hold up your chin as you sleep. CPAP devices don’t work well when your mouth is wide open, so this device can help.
Try to sleep on your sides to keep sleep apnea from ruining your sleep. By sleeping on your back, you’ll notice that your throat and nasal passages may become obstructed. 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.
Sleep with just a single, average-sized pillow each 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. This may put you in a position that can adversely affect your breathing. Try out different pillows until you find just one pillow that allows you to lay your head flatter against the bed each night so you can breathe more freely.
Sleep apnea is diagnosed through a medical exam and consideration of your and your family’s medical history. Your doctor might also choose to study you while you sleep. After studying this information, your doctor may send you to a specialist if necessary.
Eliminate all the risk factors you can. Some sleep apnea risk factors (like genetic predisposition or being a man) are impossible to escape. But others, such as weight smoking and drinking, can be controlled.
Sleeping Pills
There are some good tongue exercises you can do which can help lessen the effects of sleep apnea. For instance, press your tongue into the roof of your mouth for at least three minutes. This makes the tongue and throat muscles stronger and prevents them from relaxing and blocking the airway as you sleep.
Sleeping pills are not the answer if sleep apnea is your problem. Sleeping pills relax your palate and the muscles in your throat, which causes you to have even more trouble breathing while you sleep. For those with severe cases of sleep apnea, using these pills can be quite dangerous. Avoid using them even if you are having trouble sleeping.
Spending time exercising your throat muscles may significantly increase the complications of sleep apnea. The cause of sleep apnea is a blockage in the airways which results in a lack of an ability to breathe. When the muscles have strengthened, collapsing is less likely to occur, thus keeping your airways free.
If you have tried everything to no avail, be sure to see your doctor about professional treatment. Some people don’t have any luck with conventional treatments, and usually opt for surgeries like a tonsillectomy, adenoid removal or airway enlargement as their last resort.
How you physically sleep each night can really affect your sleep apnea. Because of this, your sleeping position should be the best possible one. Try using foam wedges to prop up your body. You could also try raising your head up about four inches.
Sleep Apnea
Whatever you do, don’t sleep on your back. Put blockades to either side of you to keep you from rolling onto your back if you must. This forces you to lay on your side since it makes it tough to lay on your back.
It is better to sleep on your side if you have sleep apnea. Many individuals afflicted with sleep apnea are back sleepers, which just boosts the chances that their airways collapse. Prop yourself on your side using pillows or cushions.
People who snore or even those who have sleep apnea may benefit if they learn to play a musical instrument. They can be enjoyable and calming, and it has also been been shown that constantly using them strengthens throat muscles and helps people to breathe more easily when sleeping. Just as working out helps to make other muscles in the body stronger, playing an instrument will help make the muscles in your mouth and throat stronger.
Do not let your sleep apnea go untreated. Not visiting a doctor will see that your sleep apnea will get worse. Don’t wait around for your lack of good sleep and snoring to get even worse. If you suspect sleep apnea, schedule a doctor visit now.
There are many simple solutions people suffering from sleep apnea can use to get better quality sleep. Set up a regular bedtime for yourself and go to sleep each night at around the same time. Make sure that your bedroom conditions are also suited for a good night’s rest. If your room is not, insomnia might set in.
Certain cases of sleep apnea can be treated with corrective oral devices. Oral devices can help when sleep apnea is caused by narrow airways. Proper jaw alignment for easy breathing during sleep is possible thanks to corrective mouth guards.
If you are wondering whether you are experiencing sleep apnea, set a date with your doctor asap and request a sleep test. This type of test can help you figure out if you’re suffering from sleep apnea and the intensity of the condition. The following step would be identifying a treatment regimen, even for milder cases.
If you suspect that you might be suffering from sleep apnea, consult a physician and arrange a sleep study. This study will rule sleep apnea in or out, and if you have it, will determine its severity. If you do have sleep apnea, you need to start treatment right away, even if your case isn’t that severe.
Back sleepers are more likely to suffer with snoring or sleep apnea. Anyone who has sleep apnea would be better off not sleeping on their back. There have been studies and reports that show how side sleeping will alleviate many symptoms of sleep apnea and improve the quality of sleep.
When you wake up gasping for breath, your body is not getting a steady supply of oxygen. This is why it can get worse at higher elevations. Oxygen levels fall as elevation increases, and that can harm anyone with sleep apnea. So avoid sleeping at high elevations if you are able to do so.
Avoid alcohol before going to bed if you have sleep apnea. This is because alcohol relaxes your throat muscles too much, which complicates the process of air getting in. As a result, your sleep apnea symptoms will worsen. That doesn’t mean that you can never drink again, but rather that you should not drink to excess, especially before bed.
People who deal with sleep apnea every day are always on the lookout for a way to remedy this terrible condition. Getting the symptoms under control is not as difficult if you have the right information. With the tips you learned here, getting rid of sleep apnea can be done.
If you are concerned that you may be suffering from sleep apnea, talk with your doctor immediately. There is no room for guessing when it comes to getting a restful night’s sleep. Inform your doctor of your sleeping issues, and he or she can help you find the reason.