If you are dealing with sleep apnea, you are fully aware of how it can ruin your chances of getting a good night’s sleep while also making your health suffer. You must get enough sleep in order to function in your day-to-day life. There are effective ways of treating this condition. You’ll find a lot of potentially useful sleep apnea advice presented in the following article.
Check with your doctor to see which CPAP equipment is best to treat your sleep apnea. You need to be aware of the machine’s size, as well as how loud it is. Some are as small as a loaf of bread and quiet as a whisper. The doctor will know which manufacturers offer the best machines.
Try cutting out cigarettes and alcohol if you have sleep apnea. These habits can cause your throat muscles to relax or swell, increasing sleep apnea. If you avoid these things, it may help your sleep apnea.
If you are dealing with sleep apnea and you’re a smoker and drinker, you should quit now to help improve the symptoms of this condition. Both of these bad habits can cause the airway muscles to relax, which makes you snore and adds to the symptoms of sleep apnea. Cutting out these habits actually saves you money, unlike other costly alternatives like surgery.
Sleep Apnea
If you have sleep apnea and you’re overweight, try shedding those pounds. Studies have shown sleep apnea and obesity can be related. If you slim down, you may see a marked difference in how your sleep apnea affects you.
Taking up a wind instrument can help to alleviate your sleep apnea symptoms. Researchers in Germany have found playing a didgeridoo can make your throat muscles stronger. These muscles control your airway. Because of this, regular playing of this instrument can aid sleep by reducing the various symptoms that sleep apnea produces.
If you have a prescription for sleep apnea and you are prescribed a CPAP, you should at least use it four hours every night. It is hard for many patients to become accustomed to using the CPAP. For this CPAP therapy to work successfully, you will need four hours each day to use it. If you have trouble adjusting to use it the full night, keep it on for four hours at the least.
Make yourself wear your CPAP for four hours while you sleep, at the least. Sometimes it is hard for people to get used to the CPAP. Four hours of use every night is the minimum necessary time you need to realize the benefits of CPAP therapy. If you have a tough time with it, be sure you have the right size mask, and that the pressure is working right.
You should know that aside from helping you to lose weight, healthy food can also help to lessen sleep apnea symptoms, too. Changing from a poor diet to a healthy one can transform your sleep apnea symptoms. Good nutrition can help many medical conditions, including sleep apnea.
Try to avoid sleeping pills. In the same way that alcohol does, sleeping pills over-relax throat muscles. In addition, sleeping pills can contribute to many problems associated with sleep apnea. Think about asking your physician about ways you can get to sleep that will not affect your apnea.
Try to avoid sleeping pills. Sleeping pills are similar to alcohol in that they cause the muscles in your throat to be less tense. There are also a myriad of other problems that can arise with the use of sleeping pills. See if your doctor knows of any sleeping medication that doesn’t cause respiratory depression.
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. Ask your partner to note anything unusual noticed during the night while you were sleeping. With this information, your doctors can make a final determination on whether or not you suffer from sleep apnea.
It is hard to know whether or not you are having difficulty breathing at night if you sleep alone. Try taping yourself at night to see if you do. Ensure that you record audio also, which will allow the doctors to evaluate noises you are making during sleep.
Should you suffer from sleep apnea, keep a regular sleep schedule. Sleep apnea already disrupts your rest more than it should. 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. The first change you should make is setting a specific time to go to sleep and wake up each day.
The effects of sleep apnea can be avoided with stronger throat muscles. When the muscles at the back of your throat collapse, your breathing can be reduced. Stronger muscles have more integrity and will not be as likely to block your airways.
Take your CPAP device with you when you are going to the hospital. You need to have your CPAP along with the mask, with you at all times while you’re there. It already has your pressure settings dialed in, and your mask is something your used to wearing at night. These things will make it much easier to continue your CPAP therapy while you are hospitalized.
If you have to use a CPAP machine, you should not have to hide it from others because you are embarrassed. Make people aware that your life would be much worse with the machine. Also, don’t be afraid to use the machine in front of others, including friends and your spouse. Remember that failure to use your CPAP could cause serious health problems. If people tease you for doing so, that’s more a reflection on them than you.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, make sure to get sinus and allergy problems treated. Remember that you already face difficulties from your sleep apnea. The last thing you need is something else causing you difficulty breathing during your sleep. Keep your airway clear and free by dealing with sinus problems so you can more easily sleep at night.
Your sleep position determines a lot in terms of your bouts of sleep apnea. That is why it is important to sleep in the best position. Lift up the top half of your body with a foam wedge. Talk to your doctor about other ways of sleeping that will be beneficial to you.
If you have tried everything to no avail, be sure to see your doctor about professional treatment. For people who did not benefit from traditional treatment alternatives, they can resort to surgery to take out the tonsils or to make the airway wider.
Some types of sleep apnea may be treated by using corrective oral devices. This is caused by the shapes of people’s jaws, which can mean they have narrower airways. You can use a mouthpiece in this instance; you will get better airflow this way
Shed pounds if you want to get rid of your sleep apnea. A lot of people find that if they shed weight they will help the apnea. The symptoms of sleep apnea can be greatly reduced by even a relatively minor amount of weight loss as the breathing passages and the throat open up.
People who suffer from sleep apnea should avoid sleeping on their backs. When you are a back sleeper, you will block your airways and your sleep apnea will flair up. Sleeping on your side is much better as it eliminates the extra effect that gravity has on you.
Consulting your GP is a necessary step in getting a diagnosis of sleep apnea, but self-help options are available. Losing weight and stopping smoking are always good, but are especially so for those who suffer from sleep apnea. If it is within a few hours of bedtime, stay away from caffeine, alcohol or a heavy meal.
Do not drink any alcoholic type beverages when living with sleep apnea. Your throat muscles over-relax when you drink which makes breathing harder. It is not necessary to quit drinking cold turkey, but you should ensure you don’t drink any alcohol immediately before you hit the sheets.
If you are afflicted with sleep apnea, then you need to give up smoking. This irritation causes narrow air passages that make breathing difficult. If you are struggling to quit, join a program, or try using nicotine-replacement therapy, such as patches. The first month is often the hardest for most smokers. Once you are past that point, your nicotine cravings lessen drastically.
Do not have an alcoholic drink close to your bedtime. Sleep apnea is just one of the sleeping disorders made worse by alcohol. Not only does alcohol relax the muscles of the airway to a dangerous extent, it also depresses your nervous system, making it less likely for you to wake up in the event of serious breathing difficulties. This combines for something that could prove to be fatal.
Now, don’t you understand how to deal with sleep apnea? Use what you’ve just learned to enhance your quality of sleep. Once you get a good night’s sleep every night, your days will seem brighter.
If your sleep apnea is caused by excess tissue in your throat and airway, surgery may be required to remove it. A surgeon will use a procedure called UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) to rid your airway of the excess tissue, thus, enlarging your airway and curing you of your sleep apnea. It is often necessary to take out the tonsils as well.
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