Hearing your doctor diagnose you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea can frighten anyone. It is important to understand that sleep apnea is a common disorder and, although it is very serious, there are many effective treatments.
If your sleep apnea is the result of narrow airways, try using a mouth guard when you sleep. These guards look similar to what athletes use, but are specifically made to change the position of the tongue, jaw and palate while you sleep and keep your airway open. Mouth guards and sleep masks must be properly fitted in order to help improve apnea.
Do you smoke or knock some back every day? Your airways are significantly affected by using both of these substances. If you do not want to quit, try avoiding them prior to bed.
You may be able to improve or eliminate your sleep apnea by giving up alcohol and smoking. Both of the muscles in your airway. Quitting these habits may be the future.
Talk to your physician about the possibility of a mouth piece to correct your sleep. You may have a naturally narrow breathing passage, small jaw or recessed chin that can amplify the effects of sleep apnea. By aligning the position of your jaw and throat, you will find that you can sleep with fewer symptoms of sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea
Lose weight if you happen to be overweight and suffer from sleep apnea.There are many studies that link sleep apnea. If you are obese, you may see a marked difference in how your sleep apnea affects you.
If your weight is higher than it should be, reverse that. Studies show that sleep apnea symptoms are more common in people who are overweight. You may cure sleep apnea by just shedding twenty pounds.
You might consider video recording your sleep patterns with a camcorder. The video should also hear any noises that occur during your sleep.
If nothing is working to better your sleep apnea, speak to a doctor about additional techniques that may be suitable. Some people have poor luck with typical sleep apnea treatments, and resort to a surgical treatment that entails the removal of the adenoids and tonsils, adenoid removal or airway enlargement as their last resort.
Playing with some wind instruments can help get rid of your sleep apnea. Researchers from Germany found that practicing with the didgeridoo on a regular basis strengthens throat muscles. This muscle group manages airway dilation and stiffening. For this reason, playing regularly helps you get a good night of rest by limiting the symptoms of sleep apnea and snoring.
Losing weight is an excellent way to cut chances of sleep apnea. A lot of patients have found that shedding excess pounds is enough to resolve sleep apnea all by itself. Even a few pounds can improve the symptoms of sleep apnea symptoms.
Stick to using just one normal sized pillow for sleeping on at night. This makes you in a way that can adversely affect your breathing. This means that one pillow is most appropriate to help alleviate your symptoms.
Try not to drink alcohol as much. The natural effects of alcohol lead to over-relaxation of your muscles. While this is often considered a desirable effect, it can lead to sleep apnea. If you are sleeping and have been drinking too close to bedtime, this can be a dangerous combination while you are asleep. Reduce the frequency of your alcohol if you do continue to use it, and never drink close to bedtime.
You can lessen the risk factors for sleep apnea. Some factors (like genetic predisposition or being a man) are unable to be altered.However, you can limit many others, like being overweight, smoking or alcohol consumption.
Some great tongue exercises can help alleviate many sleep apnea.
Many people don’t realize that sleep apnea is not something to ignore and can be potentially dangerous if left untreated. If you feel some of the symptoms, then you need to consult a physician as quickly as you can. After the diagnosis, you may be asked to take a sleep test, either at home or at a facility that specializes in sleep disorder testing.
Cpap Machine
If your CPAP air is moist and humid, you have a higher chance of sleeping better and continuing your CPAP machine application. If you think you may need to use a humidifier in conjunction with your CPAP machine, make wearing your mask much easier on yourself by asking for a humidifier prescription from your doctor.
It’s best to lay on your side to sleep when you have sleep apnea. It’s not uncommon for many with sleep apnea to sleep while laying on their back. If you sleep on your back, your airway may become blocked when mouth tissues slide back. Breathing is much simpler when you sleep on one of your sides. If you think you might roll over anyway, try a wedge pillow.
This can make sleeping on your back.
Throat exercises have been shown to help with the severity of sleep apnea. These exercises help to strengthen the muscles that surround the airway, which makes them less prone to collapsing. One exercise is to simply push your tongue up against the top of your mouth for three minutes. Try this at least once a day.
Your physician might ask you to start and maintain a sleep log to get a better grasp on your diagnosis. The intent is for you to record both the overall amount of sleep you get and any unusual symptoms or incidents that occur. If you have a partner, you can find out about snoring issues, breathing issues or flailing limb issues. This diary will help a medical professional see patterns in your sleep habits.
Sleep Apnea
Some situations of sleep apnea are solved with corrective oral devices. A corrective device will alter the jaw alignment and allow greater passage of these things while you sleep to help lessen sleep apnea symptoms.
You should take your CPAP machine everywhere you will be spending the night. Do not leave it at home. You ought not to go a single night without the CPAP if you have sleep apnea. A travel bag with good padding probably came with your machine. You can use it to carry your CPAP easily and safely anytime you leave home.
People with sleep apnea should avoid sleeping on their backs. Your airways will be much more prone to collapsing if you sleep on your back. Sleeping on your side can help you suffer from this condition.
Sleep Apnea
If you need to be hospitalized for some reason, be sure that you take your CPAP machine with you to the hospital. You need to have your CPAP along with the mask, with you at all times while you’re there. This is because it is already customized to the pressure you need, and the mask won’t be awkward. Even if you are hospitalized, you can seamlessly continue using your CPAP in this manner.
A large number of sleep apnea sleep on their back. If this applies to you, you might rethink doing that. It has been shown that the tongue and palate fall toward the back of the throat when people sleep apnea so you can get some rest.
Surgery may be recommended if the symptoms of sleep apnea created through excess airway tissue.
Devices intended to prevent snoring may be of some use. Both snoring and sleep apnea are caused by narrowed airways. This is why it makes perfect sense as to why this might work for you. If you have a machine to help with snoring it can help with apnea.
If sleep apnea affects you constantly at night, try to take a nap during the day in order to make up for the sleep deficit caused by your condition. Not getting enough sleep can take a terrible toll on your health problems as well as lost productivity and your ability to function. Take a nap to give yourself more quality hours of sleep for the day to correct this problem if your schedule allows it.
Learning that you have sleep apnea is frightening. With your doctor’s advice, you can manage your condition effectively. Use the treatment and lifestyle tips detailed in this article to improve your quality of life. If you get the correct treatment, your life will be healthy and more fulfilling even with your condition.
Don’t sleep on your back at all if you have sleep apnea. Most apnea patients are “back sleepers”, making it more likely that airway obstructions can occur. Prop yourself on your side using pillows or cushions.