There are millions of people who suffer from sleep apnea. There are a number of causes, and it can lead to serious health problems. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition, one that you and your loved ones should not ignore. Keep reading to find out more about sleep apnea.
Drop some vices to combat sleep apnea. In particular, alcohol and cigarettes are bad for you. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the throat, which restricts the airway while a person sleeps. Smoking can create carcinogens inside of your lungs, which can damage them later on. Losing these terrible habits will help a great deal when it comes to alleviating your sleep apnea symptoms.
Sleep Apnea
Depending on the condition that is causing your sleep apnea, you may be able to find a simple tool to improve your sleep. These gadgets correct your alignment, letting you breathe easily and normally throughout your sleeping hours. If you think this will help, you should ask your physician to fit you with a mouth guard.
You can really cut back on your sleep apnea by giving up alcohol and smoking. These habits can cause airways to relax too much, which can worsen sleep apnea and snoring. Quitting these habits may help you avoid costly and invasive surgery in the future.
Eating right can keep you healthy and well rested. It’s surprising how much an unhealthy diet can affect sleep apnea. Studies show that people who eat low quality foods suffer from apnea worse than overweight people that eat healthy foods.
Talk to your physician about the possibility of a mouth piece to correct your sleep. It may just be that your breathing passage is naturally narrow or your jaw is small. A device made to assist you during sleep can provide you with enough air to flow through your body.
Children can also suffer from sleep apnea. Signs of sleep apnea in kids includes hyperactivity, hostility and breathing through their mouth. Often these symptoms are similar to ADHD, but you need to talk to a physician and consider sleep apnea as a cause as well.
Follow your treatment plan including wearing your sleep mask. Using a CPAP while sleeping is a tough adjustment for many patients to make. However, it won’t be effective if you don’t use it every day. Using it for the minimum of four hours a day will allow yourself to slowly transition to full time use.
Try out other options besides sleeping pills. Sleeping pills are similar in a way to alcohol because they may relax the muscles in your throat. They may also cause complications for sleep apnea patients. Think about asking your physician about ways you can get to sleep that will not affect your apnea.
Children can have sleep apnea. If your child is inattentive, hyperactive, has poor grades, is irritable or hostile, and/or breathes through their mouth instead of their nose, they could be suffering from sleep apnea. These symptoms are much like ADHD so you should make sure you get the right diagnosis.
Avoid sleeping pills if you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Sleeping pills can make it so your airways don’t function correctly. Having a bad sleep apnea case could make these pills a dangerous option. It may be tempting to use these pills to sleep better, but it’s not worth the risk.
Sleeping Pills
If you suffer from sleep apnea and you use a CPAP, carry your medical ID. This is particularly important if you have an accident and require overnight hospitalization. With your ID you can inform medical personnel about your sleep apnea and your CPAP device.
Try out other options besides sleeping pills. Sleeping pills will just make you snore more by relaxing the muscles in the throat. Natural sleep aids, such as melatonin, are much safer. Speak with your health professional about something that can help you sleep without harming your breathing patterns.
If you are going to be traveling and you have sleep apnea, you need to remember to take your CPAP with you. Never go a night without your CPAP, because you need it if you have sleep apnea. Most CPAP machines come with a travel bag designed for just this purpose. This can be used to transport the CPAP machine simply when not at home.
If you are not sleeping with a partner, then it’s almost impossible to determine if you’re suffering from sleep apnea on your own. A video recorder can help you discover whether you are sleeping well or struggling. Remember to make a video with sound so your doctor can hear you snore!
One sure-fire way to combat the problems posed by sleep apnea is proper weight management. Getting rid of those extra pounds can help you with your sleep apnea. Even a loss of a few pounds has been beneficial in opening the airway.
It’s vital that you don’t use any type of sleeping pill when you suffer from sleep apnea. Pills such as these may cause a relaxation of your throat muscles which causes your airways to not function properly. These pills can lead to a very dangerous situation if your case is bad, especially when tempted to try and get a good night’s sleep.
If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, it is imperative that you stop smoking. Smoking causes the upper air passages to swell up, which causes sleep apnea to be more debilitating. Second-hand smoke is just as damaging to the respiratory system as first-hand smoke. Many people find the first month to be the hardest. Past this point, your system is free of nicotine and the physical demands for the drug will drop off.
If you need to stay at a hospital for any reason, remember to pack your CPAP machine. You need to have your CPAP along with the mask, with you at all times while you’re there. While they may have a machine for you to use, your machine is already preset for your specific settings and has the mask you are already accustomed to wearing. Your whole hospitalization process will go much smoother because of this.
A CPAP machine can assist you in sleeping if you do have sleep apnea. You are more likely to enjoy some good sleep, and also stick with therapy, if the air is moist and warm. Lots of CPAP machines have humidifiers built in. Check with your doctor to see if he or she can prescribe a humidifier for you.
Be sure to treat allergies and sinus issues right away if you suffer from sleep apnea. During the night, you are already dealing with breathing problems. You have to avoid anything else that is going to affect your ability to breathe while you are asleep. Making sure your airway isn’t obstructed is your best bet to getting good sleep.
Sleeping on your back can make your sleep apnea worse. You need to find the right position. You can keep yourself propped up with a large foam wedge. If you have an adjustable bed, raise the head by several inches for the best position.
Getting your throat muscles stronger is a great way to have less of a problem with sleep apnea. Relaxed or excessive tissue can obstruct air passages and make breathing difficult. When your muscles strengthen, their chances of collapse and airway blockage go down.
Make sure you remember that you aren’t going to always notice sleep apnea during the night. Waking up gasping for air makes a lot of noise, but it may not wake you up completely. Your unexplained sleepiness may be due to sleep apnea.
Don’t binge drink if you have sleep apnea. Drinking exacerbates the airway constriction of sleep apnea by causing the muscles in your throat to relax. Do not drink or smoke before you lay down to sleep. This way, the alcohol will not disturb your sleep.
If you have sleep apnea you should never sleep on the back. When you sleep on your back, it often ends up blocking your airways, which in turn will cause problems with sleeping. Attempt sleeping on your side. Should this be unnatural for you, use pillows to keep you in position on your side during the night.
Learn to play a wind instrument. This is not only a good way to expand your horizons, but it will also strengthen the muscles that are the source of sleep apnea problems. As you make these muscles stronger, you will see increased control and minimize apnea symptoms.
Throat exercises have been shown to help with the symptoms of sleep apnea. These exercises help to strengthen the muscles that surround the airway, making them less likely to collapse. One of the many examples is to press the whole tongue to the roof of your mouth, hold it for three minutes and then release. Do that every day for best results.
If you plan on taking the plane for a long trip, contact the airline company and let them know you will need to use your CPAP machine. They will usually accommodate you by giving you a seat where you can easily get to your machine. If you are flying a foreign airline, remember to bring a universal power adapter.
Sleep apnea is an issue with throat muscles, which means strengthening them will help ease symptoms. You can learn any number of simple exercises to help you tone and strengthen the muscles in your throat.
Those with sleep apnea may need to find simple solutions to get a good night’s rest. Set up a schedule for each day so that you can go to sleep at a regular time and wake up at the same time. Also try to create an environment that is conducive to getting restful sleep. If your room is not, insomnia might set in.
Many people have found that learning to play wind instruments is helpful for sleep apnea. Your apnea symptoms may improve if you start playing the clarinet, the flute or some other wind instrument. These instruments help you learn proper air control, and will exercise your airway muscles as well. Soon enough, the more you play with the instruments your muscles will have sufficiently built up to help with your sleep apnea.
Talk to a doctor after being diagnosed with sleep apnea. He can chart your progress and keep you abreast of the latest developments in sleep therapy. When you try a new treatment, plan on meeting with your doctor after a month or so to talk about how efficient the treatment is.
Speak with your sleeping partner about any problems or issues related to the sleep apnea. They can often tell you how sever your problem is because they are kept awake by it. Ask your loved one if your sleep apnea is causing a negative affect. Let your partner know that you plan to resolve this problem.
If you suspect you have sleep apnea, go see your doctor. You cannot afford to just try to guess on your own whether you have sleep apnea. This sleep disorder is much too complicated and your sleep quality is way too important for that. Communicate all your medical issues to your doctor to make sure you get the most appropriate treatment.
Keep any problems you have with your breathing under control. You should treat all breathing conditions if you learn you have sleep apnea. When you experience an allergy flare-up, take the proper medication and do everything that you can to limit your exposure to allergens. If you have a cold, treat it immediately to avoid increasing the risk of sleep apnea events.
The above article has provided you with helpful tips. If you think sleep anea is something that can be ignored, that could not be further from the truth. Use the information you learned from this article and share with anyone else you think it could help.
If you are concerned that sleep apnea may be an issue for you or a loved one, consult with your doctor. Sleep apnea can be potentially dangerous if left untreated, and in the short term, untreated sleep apnea controls your life in many negative ways. If you or someone you know has the slightest thought that you do have sleep apnea, then get checked out immediately.
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