Don’t be scared if you’ve found out that you have sleep apnea. Despite the dangers and discomforts of this serious condition, it can be properly managed so that you can have a normal life. So learn all that you can about sleep apnea to help you get through each and every night.
Quitting smoking and drinking can relieve sleep apnea symptoms. Both of these habits have a negative effect on the muscles in your airway. Quitting these addictions may be the easiest way to address your sleep apnea.
Sleep on your side as much as possible. If you sleep on your back, this can make your sleep apnea worse. If you sleep flat on your back you are only exasperating your breathing problem by allowing your throat muscles to relax and move down. Sleep on your side to keep your airways straight. If you have a hard time sleeping on your back all night, you can try to prop pillows around yourself to prevent you from sleeping on your back.
There are several components to a sleep apnea diagnosis including a physical examination, a complete review of your medical history and a review of your family history. After taking all this information, your family doctor may send you to see a sleep specialist. This doctor specializes in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, and he will quite likely order a sleep study.
Sleep Apnea
If you are going to be traveling and you have sleep apnea, you need to remember to take your CPAP with you. When you are dealing with sleep apnea, the CPAP machine should be used every single night. Your machine probably came with a convenient carrying bag. You should be able to use this to carry your CPAP machine with you no matter where you go.
If you need to stay at a hospital for any reason, remember to pack your CPAP machine. Your CPAP and your mask should be with you for both planned stays and trips to an emergency room. This is preset to your breathing pressure. In addition, you’ll be using the same mask you’ve been accustomed to using each night. This will simplify your CPAP therapy during your stay at the hospital.
Try using devices that help with snoring. When the airway is mostly closed, snoring occurs. Apnea on the other hand, occurs when the airway is completely closed. A device that can help with snoring may also work to help with apnea. Anti-snoring devices help you reduce apnea as you sleep.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, do not underestimate the power of losing a few pounds. If a person has a neck circumference of 17 inches or more, they are more likely to develop sleep apnea. Losing the excess weight can greatly lower the pressure it puts on your airways and helps to get air flowing freely so you can breathe much better at night.
Tongue exercising may help resolve certain sleep apnea symptoms. Press your tongue on the roof of your mouth, hold it there for at least three minutes. This will make your throat stronger and prevent the muscles from relaxing too much during sleep and causing apnea.
Playing a wind instrument can help. You can pick up a new skill, but more than that you are able to exercise and learn to control the very muscles that have to do with breathing. Working these muscles make them stronger, and help you control them, especially when you sleep; this will reduce your sleep apnea.
Sleeping on your back can make your sleep apnea worse. This is why it’s essential to sleep in a good position. Sew a tennis ball into the back of your sleeping attire so that it will remind you during your sleep to stay on your side or stomach. Or, if possible, elevate the top part of the bed around four inches.
Back sleeping can aggravate the the symptoms of sleep apnea, so always sleep to one side of your body. To keep yourself from rolling over onto your back when you are asleep, you can sew a lumpy object, such as a ball, onto your pajamas. The discomfort of the ball will keep you from staying on your back as you sleep.
If you have sleep apnea, be proactive about finding and following treatment options. If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause serious health consequences and will get worse as the years go on. Don’t hesitate. Your symptoms will only get worse. See your doctor right away.
There are several exercises that can strengthen you throat and improve sleep apnea’s symptoms. If you perform these exercises each day, your throat muscles will grow stronger over time, which means they will collapse less often while you are sleeping. A great example is to press your tongue against the top of your mouth, holding it there for three minutes, and releasing it. Do this exercise once each day.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, don’t sleep on your back. When you are a back sleeper, you will block your airways and your sleep apnea will flair up. Side sleeping is highly recommended if you suffer from sleep apnea. This way, gravity is not working against you quite as much.
If you are tired often and long term, your sleep apnea feeds itself into getting worse. This problem may be reduced when you sleep on a schedule. Set a specific bedtime, and specific wake time, and try to adhere to them both. This will prevent the sleep apnea from escalating to anything worse like total insomnia.
If you ignore your sleep apnea, it will only get worse. The upside is that many treatments exist to help. Use this information and talk to your doctor about it. Using these tips can help you stay healthy.