If you or someone you know wakes up often during the night, they may suffer from sleep apnea. Ignoring sleep apnea can cause serious health problems, so you and anyone you sleep with should be aware of the condition. Read on to gain more useful information.
Your doctor or a sleep specialist can help you find the CPAP machine that is best suited for your needs and comfort. You should take the size and potential to make noise into consideration. Some CPAP machines are small and are quiet. The doctor would be able to guide you to the right one to use.
Think about changing a few of your habits to help with your sleep apnea. Few things are worse for sleep apnea than drinking and smoking. Drinking causes respiratory depression, which makes it more difficult to breathe. Smoking, of course, causes both long and short term damage to your lungs and airways, as well as putting you at risk for cancer. Letting these habits go can reduce your symptoms and make sleeping easier.
Ask your doctor for a mouth piece to help alleviate your apnea issues. If you have a narrow airway, recessed chin or small jaw, it is likely you have amplified sleep apnea effects. You will get better rest if you use specialty devices to position yourself and align your jaw properly while sleeping.
In order to assist you with sleep apnea, you must talk to your doctor about what CPAP machines to use. The loudness and size of any machine should be considered. Some of these machines are really small and barely make any sounds at all. The physician should know which companies have the best machines.
Slim down if you’re heavy. There are many studies that link sleep apnea to obesity. If you are obese, even shedding 25 pounds can provide a drastic improvement in your symptoms.
Sleep Apnea
Eating healthy foods consistently can reduce your weight and sleep apnea symptoms. Despite what you may think, diet plays a major part in the ability to sleep. There is scientific data that suggests that eating a poor diet can worsen sleep apnea, independent of a person’s weight.
To fight sleep apnea, try to eat a healthy diet. Most people would find it surprising to know that your diet can be a factor in managing sleep apnea. People who don’t eat healthy food have the worst sleep apnea conditions.
Dealing with sleep apnea is normally something that is very serious. If you suspect you may have it, it is important to see your doctor right away. An official diagnosis might mean consultation with a sleep specialist, a sleep test and monitoring to get a whole grasp on your situation.
Refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages as much as possible, especially at bedtime. Alcohol will relax all of your muscles. Drinking alcohol will make it hard for you to get through the night if you have sleep apnea. Your throat muscles become relaxed and cause your airways to become blocked. If you must drink alcohol, consume it sparingly and at least a few hours before heading to bed.
Sleep apnea sufferers often benefit from laying on their side during sleep. When you sleep on your back, the airways get obstructed due to the throat and nasal passages being more prone to obstruction. Try sleeping on your side at night and determine if that helps you breathe a bit easier.
Sleep apnea is not to be taken lightly. If you think you may have it, talk to a doctor immediately. After diagnosis, you may be referred to a sleep specialist who may order a home study using a portable monitor. In this way, the specialist can assess your condition accurately.
Your physician might ask you to start and maintain a sleep log to get a better grasp on your diagnosis. Keep track of how long you are able to sleep at night, as well as anything else related to your sleeping process. Your partner can let you know if you snore too loudly, jerk your limbs, or stop breathing. This type of data can help your doctor diagnose the issue.
Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed after a thorough medical examination. You might also undergo a sleep study. Dependent upon what your personal physician discovers, they might give you a referral to see a sleep specialist.
If your sleep apnea requires the use of a CPAP machine, make certain that a medical ID is always with you. The reason for this is because if you must be taken to the hospital, the staff assisting you needs to understand that you’re using the CPAP machine for your sleep apnea. The ID must say that you have apnea, use a CPAP machine, and specify what pressure the machine is set at.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and intend to travel at all, make sure you bring you CPAP in the luggage. A diagnosis of sleep apnea is serious and means that you cannot forgo the use of your CPAP for even a single night. This machine should have a travel bag with it. This bag will help you safely travel with your CPAP machine when you are on vacation.
If you are going to be traveling and you have sleep apnea, you need to remember to take your CPAP with you. If you have a sleep apnea diagnosis, you must use your CPAP every single night. You should have a travel bag that is padded that came with the machine. You can transport your CPAP machine with you away from home.
Don’t forget to bring your CPAP along when you need to stay in the hospital. Your CPAP and your mask should be with you for both planned stays and trips to an emergency room. Since the settings are already set to what you’re used to, and the mask that you use each night is there, it makes it much easier to use at the hospital. Having your own familiar equipment eases the strangeness of being in the hospital, and helps you sleep more restfully.
An excellent way to help lessen the effects of sleep apnea is by losing weight. Many people have corrected their apnea by losing weight. Even just a small drop in your weight can contribute to a better night’s sleep, helping to clear the airways and your throat.
You should consult with a medical professional about the more intensive sleep apnea treatments available to you if your symptoms don’t respond to the basic steps you take. A small percentage of patients don’t react to the common treatments, and as a result, surgery may be their only option, which includes enlarging the airway or removing the tonsils.
Try using devices that help with snoring. When the airway is closed but still allows a little air through, that’s when snoring is most probable; in sleep apnea, the airways are almost fully closed. It actually makes sense that your device can assist with the latter if it can help you with the former. These devices might be just what you need for a better night’s rest.
Sleep with just a single, average-sized pillow each night. Having too many pillows, or one gigantic one, may interfere with good breathing posture. It will make breathing harder than it needs to be. Because of this you should only use one pillow for easier sleeping.
Your sleep apnea will not just go away by itself without treatment. Some treatments work better for different people. For some, weight loss can help, but even slender people can suffer from sleep apnea. The CPAP machine and other non-invasive procedures have been helpful for millions. Some prefer surgery to avoid daily contraptions. Whichever route you choose should provide treatment that makes you happy.
Consider trying devices that reduce snoring. Snoring is precursor to sleep apnea. Snoring indicates the airway is blocked. Sleep apnea indicates the airway is fully blocked for a period of time. This is why it makes perfect sense as to why this might work for you. You could find yourself reducing your apnea with anti-snoring devices.
Take up a wind instrument. You will like the music and help exercise muscles that can better your breathing. Working these muscles can reduce sleep apnea symptoms, by strengthening them and enabling you greater control over them.
Consulting a doctor is important, but there are several options you can try at home. Stopping the habits of drinking and smoking can help. Anyone who is overweight may find that they benefit quite well from losing 20 pounds or more. If it is within a few hours of bedtime, stay away from caffeine, alcohol or a heavy meal.
Remember that you need not feel embarrassed by your CPAP machine and your treatments. Millions of people around the world use them, and you should ignore anyone who teases you about it. Remember that a CPAP machine is helping you, and if others make fun of you, they aren’t your friends.
You can get some relief from your sleep apnea symptoms by doing tongue exercises. Press your tongue on the roof of your mouth, hold it there for at least three minutes. Your tongue and throat muscles will become stronger by doing this, making it less likely that your airways are blocked as you sleep.
It’s a good idea to contact your airline if you’re planning a long plane trip and will need to make use of a CPAP machine during your flight. The airline company is very accommodating and will designate an area for you and your machine. If you are using a foreign airline, pack a power adapter that will fit their outlets.
A great method of reducing your sleep apnea symptoms is strengthening your throat muscles. Sleep apnea results from breathing obstruction due to your soft tissues in your throat collapsing. Stronger muscles have more integrity and will not be as likely to block your airways.
Avoid alcohol before going to bed if you have sleep apnea. Alcohol causes respiratory depression, which decreases airflow, thus causing more sleep apnea episodes during the night. That doesn’t mean that you can never drink again, but rather that you should not drink to excess, especially before bed.
Learn to play a woodwind instrument. 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. Exercising these muscles will make them stronger, thus, making them less likely to collapse while you sleep, which will improve airflow to your lungs.
If you deal with sleep apnea on a daily basis, try taking a nap during the day to help with the lack of sleep at night. Lack of sleep can cause health problems and also harm your body’s functioning. If you can, take a small nap during the day so that you can get more rest.
People who suffer from sleep apnea, or even snoring, should consider learning to play an 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. Taking up this new endeavor will help you get a handle on controlling your airways.
Be compliant with treatments. It may not seem to be a big deal to not follow your treatment for a night or more, but you will be able to feel a big difference in how alert you feel. Always comply with your treatment regimen in order to function at peak efficiency each and every day.
Hopefully, the information above has given you advice to ponder and discuss with the people around you. If you were thinking about ignoring this condition, then think again, because it will only make the problem worse. Print out this article to share with those around you, so that they also can share in your new-found knowledge.
Stay away all opioid and narcotic medications. These kinds of medicines lower oxygen levels even in people who do not have sleep apnea. Combining low oxygen caused by sleep apnea with medication that causes respiratory depression has a compounding effect, which can be life-threatening.
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