Sleep apnea is not only extremely inconvenient and disruptive, it also has the potential to be life threatening. You must educate yourself concerning the root causes so that you can find relief. This article will share some helpful advice that will get you on the right path.
Quit drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Both smoking and drinking promote relaxation of the airways causing sleep apnea and excessive snoring. Remember that surgery and medications are expensive. Correcting bad habits is free.
Losing some harmful vices to fight off sleep apnea. Drinking alcohol and smoking are very bad for the condition. Alcohol depresses your nervous system and makes it harder to breathe, particularly when you are asleep. Smoking adds harmful chemicals which damage your lungs over time. Losing these terrible habits will help a great deal when it comes to alleviating your sleep apnea symptoms.
If you are fat, become thinner. There are many studies that link sleep apnea to obesity. If you are obese, lose at least 20 pounds to see if it makes a change for the better with your sleep apnea. It will also help ward off other medical conditions, too.
To help deal with sleep apnea effectively, you should speak with your doctor to help him show you what CPAP machine works best. You should consider the size and volume of the device before you decide to get one. Some CPAP machines are small and are quiet. A doctor will be able to give advice on machines that they know their patients have had very good luck with.
Get a custom mouth guard. For those who have sleep apnea, this guard is a wonderful thing to have. While they won’t work for everyone, they do work for many people who find them to be easy to use and successful in treating their sleep apnea. Invest into a mouth guard instead of having a loud machine keep others up at night.
Do you smoke or drink? Get rid of behaviors that are not good for you. They may hurt your air passages. Smoking will cause your throat to swell, and alcohol will relax it too much. Avoid second-hand smoke and do not drink immediately before going to bed.
Some people give up using the CPAP machine they have been prescribed and this is not a good move. Use it for at least four hours each night, until you become used to it in full. It can be hard, at first, to get comfortable using it. Nonetheless, it will not be effective unless you wear it for a minimum of 4 hours nightly. If you still have trouble adjusting, get at least four hours and try to add more time each night.
If you want relief from sleep apnea symptoms, one way to get it is to start playing a woodwind instrument. In Germany, research has been done that suggests playing the didgeridoo will train the muscles of the upper airway. You can stiffen your throat muscles which will help them get more air to flow through them. This means that practicing regularly with a wind instrument will reduce the severity of sleep apnea symptoms that you experience.
Cut back on your alcohol consumption. Alcohol causes your muscles to relax. That may be something people like when they drink, but it also can cause sleep apnea. Alcohol relaxes throat muscles and can make it difficult to keep the air passage open. If you do drink alcohol, avoid drinking it 3 hours before bedtime.
Eating right can keep you healthy and well rested. A lot of people would be surprised to learn that eating badly makes sleep apnea worse. Studies show that people who eat low quality foods suffer from apnea worse than overweight people that eat healthy foods.
Sleep apnea can be a serious disorder. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, see your doctor right away. Once you have been diagnosed, your next step will be a sleep specialist, who may administer a sleeping test using a small monitor to determine the extent of your condition.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, do not take pills. Sleeping pills relax throat muscles to the degree that they no longer properly function. Find other ways to solve your troubles with staying asleep, because sleep apnea mixed with sleeping pills can be a potentially life-threatening mix.
Find another way to get to sleep other than sleeping pills. Sleeping pills can make your throat muscles relax in an undesirable way. There are also a myriad of other problems that can arise with the use of sleeping pills. Stress relief through meditation or exercise can also help you fall asleep safely.
Your physician might ask you to start and maintain a sleep log to get a better grasp on your diagnosis. 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. Your partner can tell you if you snore loudly, quit breathing or jerk your limbs. This type of data can help your doctor diagnose the issue.
If you are having issues with your nose, you can use nasal spray. This type of product can ease occasional congestion or dryness. Do not use nasal spray over long periods of time: this could damage your nose and cause irritation. A quick trip to the pharmacy can turn you onto a host of different treatments that can help reduce nasal congestion.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and require a CPAP machine, make sure you have a medical ID bracelet. You don’t need people questioning you and your device all the time, so it makes it easier when you bring your medical ID. Your ID should tell people about your sleep apnea, your use of a CPAP, and the proper pressure level for it.
Working out your tongue can help treat your sleep apnea symptoms. Press your entire tongue up inside your mouth, and hold it there for at least a few minutes. This will strengthen your throat and tongue muscles and reduce the chances of them relaxing while you sleep and blocking your airways.
Stop snoring devices are often helpful in treating sleep apnea. Snoring occurs when air passages are almost closed, while sleep apnea occurs when air passages are completely closed. So, it makes sense that a device that helps with the former can help with the latter. Your sleep apnea may benefit from the use of a stop snoring device.
You can cut down on the sleep apnea symptoms you experience by making your throat muscles stronger. When your breathing is obstructed by soft tissues collapsing in the anterior of your throat while you sleep, the result is sleep apnea. If your muscles are stronger, their chances of collapsing and blocking your airways are minimized.
You can cut down on the sleep apnea symptoms you experience by making your throat muscles stronger. Sleep apnea is a direct result of a collapse of tissue that occurs towards the far throat’s back. As your muscles strengthen, their possibility of collapsing and blocking your airways is lowered.
You shouldn’t feel embarassed or ashamed about sleep apnea treatments like CPAP therapy. People will feel better about knowing why you are using it, and they will be supportive. Remember that your CPAP machine was prescribed by your doctor to help you. If those in your life are not supportive of this, perhaps you should seek more supportive friends and acquaintances.
It is fine to get a CPAP machine, it’s natural for sleep apnea sufferers. Millions of people around the world use them, and you should ignore anyone who teases you about it. 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.
There are some sleep apnea cases that you can cure with oral devices. Some people have an overbite or narrow jaws that are set in such a way that cause the apnea. Your jaw can be aligned with a corrective device because air can flow more easily.
Sleeping in certain positions can also impact your sleep apnea. It’s important to find the best position for you to sleep in. If you must sleep on your back, elevate your head and the top half of your body slightly. Try to also prevent yourself from falling off the bed in the middle of the night.
When you think you may be a sleep apnea sufferer, it’s important to talk with a physician so they can schedule you for a sleep testing, if necessary. This test will determine if you have sleep apnea and how severe your condition is. Even mild sleep apnea must be treated, so formulating a treatment plan is your next step.
Because apnea is not a problem of the nose, but rather a problem of the throat, making the throat stronger can have positive effects on controlling apnea symptoms. If making your throat stronger is something that you want to do, plenty of exercise choices exist that are quick to do.
Avoid sleeping on your back if you have sleep apnea. You are more likely to have apnea during your sleep if you are on your back because your airway can close up more easily in this position. Find another position that does not restrict your airways.
Many people with sleep apnea sleep on their backs. If you sleep on your back, think about changing positions. Many studies indicate that if you sleep on your side, it will help with your sleep apnea.
A lot of people with sleep apnea sleep on their back. If you are one of these people, try a different sleeping position to get some relief. Research has shown that side sleeping can ease sleep apnea, meaning you get better rest.
Continue to talk to your doctor, even after your initial diagnosis. This way you can talk to them about your progress. When trying out some new kind of treatment, it is best to seek the counsel of a doctor who can monitor the progress of your sleep apnea.
Once you’ve received a sleep apnea diagnosis, it’s important to maintain contact with your physician. Your physician can give you advice and keep you up on new treatments. Plan on keeping in touch with your doctor and letting them know about how the treatment is going.
The problem of sleep apnea is made worse when you are chronically tired. Be sure to get on a sleep schedule to combat this. Always go to bed and wake up at the same times each day. This will prevent the sleep apnea from escalating to anything worse like total insomnia.
Strengthen the muscles of your throat and jaw using special exercises. Many times, sleep apnea is dependent on weak muscles, so take time to exercise them to improve your symptoms. You can really benefit from a few exercises.
You need to get a mouth guard that is custom made for you! If your physician can treat any underlying condition, your sleep apnea will improve. The way your jaw is set can sometimes also contribute to the negative sleep apnea symptoms you experience.
Stay consistent with your treatment. You might think you can go without your treatment for a few nights, but you are going to be able to tell and your sleep will be less restful; you’ll be less alert during the day. Be assured that your symptoms will come back quickly and affect your life again without continuous treatment.
Sleep apnea causes many people considerable aggravation. In many cases, the discomfort, sleep problems, and health risks of sleep apnea are felt not just by the sufferers but by their loved ones as well. Use the information provided here to map out your own battle plan against sleep apnea.
