If your loved one regularly wakes in the night short of breath, sleep apnea may be the culprit. Read the following article for more useful information.
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. Speak with your doctor concerning mouth guards, and have yourself fitted for one, provided your doctor agrees.
Sleep Apnea
Drop some of your vices to combat sleep apnea. Smoking cigarettes and drinking are a big problem for people who have sleep apnea. Drinking affects the respiratory system to function. Smoking adds harmful chemicals which damage your lungs and damages them over time.Dropping these habits can help ease the symptoms of sleep apnea.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and you smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, quitting could improve your symptoms. Both of these habits are known to make your airway’s muscles relax. This will increase your snoring as well as other symptoms of sleep apnea. As an added benefit, keep in mind that ditching these bad habits will put extra money back into your pocket, whereas extensive medical treatments will cost you a great deal.
Excessive weight can be a primary cause of sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea
If you sleep alone, it may be hard for you to get a good idea of the exact nature of your sleep apnea symptoms. Therefore, record yourself sleeping at night by putting a video camcorder in your room. You need to include audio in your video because the doctor needs to hear the noises you make.
You may be able to improve or eliminate your sleep apnea by giving up alcohol and smoking. Both smoking and drinking promote relaxation of the muscles in your airway. Quitting these habits may help you avoid costly and invasive surgery in the easiest way to address your sleep apnea.
Playing wind instruments can actually help get rid of your sleep apnea. Researchers in Germany found that practicing with the didgeriddo can improve upper airway muscles. These particular muscles are the key to dilation of the air passage and proper breathing as we sleep.
Swear off sleeping pills. Sleeping pills can interfere with your throat muscles and with your airway. Avoid them at all costs to prevent yourself from hurting your body any more.
Try using a mouth guard. These are specially made especially for people with sleep apnea. It provides a more comfortable alternative to using a CPAP machine. The device assists you by keeping your airways open and providing stability for the soft tissue.
You might consider video recording your sleep patterns with a camcorder. The video needs audio to listen for any noises.
In order to make a proper diagnosis, your doctor may have you maintain a sleep journal. The intent is for you to record both the overall amount of sleep you get and any unusual symptoms or incidents that occur. Your partner can best inform you if your sleep involves jerking limbs, stops in breathing and loud snoring. All these will assist your physician in making a formal diagnosis.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and require a CPAP machine, be sure to carry a medical ID with you.
Cpap Machine
Use a chin strap with your CPAP each night to prevent your mouth from opening as you sleep. A chin strap is a strap on fabric that can hold your mouth closed. CPAP therapy will not work if your mouth is open, so try this simple device to see if it fixes the problem.
If you need to be hospitalized for some reason, remember to pack your CPAP machine. Your CPAP machine should be with you for both planned stays and trips to an emergency room. This will facilitate your CPAP therapy while at the hospital.
You can lessen the risk factors for sleep apnea. Some factors are impossible to escape. However, many other risk factors can be cut out, like excessive weight, smoking or alcohol consumption.
If nothing is working to better your sleep apnea, try talking to a doctor about more aggressive treatments. 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.
Don’t go to sleep facing upwards if you have sleep apnea. Sleeping on one’s back blocks your airways extra vulnerable to blockage; this is why most sleep apnea sufferers are also habitual back-sleepers. Use pillows to prop you up and keep yourself lying on your side at night.
Some great tongue exercises can help alleviate many sleep apnea symptoms.
A great way to reduce the possibility of having sleep apnea is to lose weight. People usually find that sleep apnea can be remedied by shedding those extra pounds. Even losing a little weight can improve sleep apnea by opening the throat and airway, because there is less pressure on the neck.
Avoid excessive drinking if you have sleep apnea sufferer. Alcohol will relax your throat muscles beyond normality and can block an airway. If you are going to drink, avoid all alcohol or make sure not to drink at all at least 4 hours before bedtime. This will ensure alcohol harming you from getting a good night’s sleep.
How you physically sleep apnea. This is the reason why it’s vital to sleep in a proper positioning is so critical. You can keep yourself propped up with a foam wedge; it will elevate your upper body.
Be sure to make use of nasal spray for a runny, stuffy, itchy nose. Nasal spray can help clear out your airways. However, you should not continuously use nasal sprays as this may cause nose damage. A quick trip to the pharmacy can turn you onto a host of different treatments that can help reduce nasal congestion.
People who suffer from sleep apnea should avoid sleeping on their back. 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
Losing weight can definitely help reduce sleep apnea’s effects. People who are overweight or have a larger than normal neck circumference may be prone to sleep apnea. Pressure on the neck is reduced with weight loss, making breathing easier while sleeping.
Here you have read through some wonderful advice with regards to sleep apnea. If you think that your sleep apnea will just go away on its own, you are making a dangerous bet. Print the information here out and share it with others so that they can be as educated about it as you are.