Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Getting Treatment Is Key

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Getting Treatment Is Key

If your sleep apnea problem is making your nights miserable, it is important to seek treatment right away. Not having enough sleep during the night can significantly impact your daily life. Please use the following advice to improve your sleep, in spite of having all the symptoms of sleep apnea. You have to get rid of a few vices to get through sleep apnea. In particular, alcohol and cigarettes are bad for you. Consuming alcohol can lead to trouble with your respiratory system. Inflammation and narrowing of the air passages is extremely dangerous for those who suffer from sleep apnea. Your sleep apnea symptoms will improve if you give up both of these unhealthy habits completely.

Cigarette Smoke

Start playing a wind instrument to alleviate your sleep apnea symptoms. Researchers from Germany found that practicing with the didgeridoo on a regular basis strengthens throat muscles. These muscles are responsible for opening and closing your airway, as well as controlling the stiffness of the airway. Regular playing can significantly reduce the occurrence of the symptoms of sleep apnea by allowing these muscle to function properly and letting you get a peaceful night's rest. Avoid contact with cigarette smoke and consumption of alcohol if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. If you drink and smoke, you need to quit now. Drinking suppresses your breathing and causes a lot of harm to your respiratory system. Cigarette smoke is full of cancer-causing chemicals which are bad for your lungs. These are both habits which can make sleep apnea worse. Are you using a CPAP for your sleep apnea? If so, then you should try to utilize it a minimum of four hours per night. Some individuals have a lot of trouble getting used to CPAP masks in their sleep. If this is the case with you, try a different mask. That is often the source of the discomfort. Keep trying to use your machine, and work up to a full night slowly if you need to. If you want real assistance with sleep apnea at night, talk to a physician about the optimal CPAP machine for you. The size of the machine and the loudness are both things that need to be considered. Don't worry too much about the sound as there are many types of very quiet machines that will not disrupt sleep. Your physician can recommend the best manufacturers in the industry. Eating healthy foods consistently can reduce your weight and sleep apnea symptoms. A lot of people are surprised that a bad diet can affect sleep apnea. People who do not eat well, or are overweight, may suffer from sleep apnea. Shedding some excess pounds is a good idea if you're overweight. Studies show that sleep apnea symptoms are more common in people who are overweight. 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. Test out sleeping on the side. If you sleep on your back, this can make your sleep apnea worse. If you sleep on your back, you are more likely to have your mouth open and block your airways. Breathing is much simpler when you sleep on one of your sides. Put a pillow on your side if you always find yourself moving around during sleep. Using a wind instrument can be a huge help in treating your sleep apnea. Researchers in Germany found that playing a didgeridoo can train and strengthen the muscles of the upper airway. This muscle group manages airway dilation and stiffening. Due to this, regular play can translate into good sleep at night. Keeping a sleep log can help your doctor diagnose you with sleep apnea. Sleep logs are records where patients write down the length and quality of their sleep. You can ask your spouse or a family member to let you know you how often you snore at night. This helps the doctor discern whether you have sleep apnea or not.

Sleep Apnea

Establish a sleep routine if you are a sleep apnea sufferer. Your condition is already messing with your regular sleep cycle every night. Getting treatment from a doctor is just one part of the solution. Making sure that you don't disrupt your sleep on your own with a lax sleeping schedule is another part of the solution. The most important adjustment to make is to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Your physician may suggest that you start recording your sleeping habits in order to zero in on your sleep apnea symptoms. All hours slept or spent awake should be recorded. Ask your partner for more specific information on how loud your snoring is, the quality of your breathing and even how restful you were. Your doctor will then be able to tell if you suffer from sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea who need a CPAP should have a medical ID that identifies the problem. If you need medical attention, it's vital that the people treating you know about your condition and that you use a CPAP machine. The information on the card should mention your sleep anea and include the full details of the treatment you regularly use. Treat your allergies or other sinus problems when dealing with sleep apnea. You already find it hard to breathe during the night because of your symptoms. One issue is enough when battling for air when you are asleep. Keep your airway clear by clearing your nostrils before you go to sleep. Try not to sleep on your back if you have sleep apnea. Most people who have sleep apnea are back sleepers, which means that their airways constrict easier. Try using a pillow or some cushions to keep yourself propped on your side when you are in bed. If you are suffering from sleep apnea and have a cold or allergies, try using a nasal spray. This should help clear any blockages in the airways for a couple of nights. Most nasal sprays are not recommended for extended periods of time so use them sparingly. Take a trip to the drugstore and find a nasal cleaner that suits you. You can do tongue exercises to help minimize sleep apnea symptoms. If you press your tongue up and hold it there for a short period of time, it will help. This will help strengthen weak tongue and throat muscles so that they don't slip back and block your airway while you sleep so easily. If a person has sleep apnea and is overweight, they can often reduce their symptoms by losing some weight. Sleep apnea commonly occurs in overweight patients that have a larger neck. Losing weight can significantly reduce the pressure on your airway and improve the flow of air as you breathe at night. One way to prevent yourself from getting sleep apnea is to exercise your throat muscles and make them stronger. Difficulty in breathing causes sleep apnea, which is a result of your soft tissue collapsing in your throat. As the muscles become stronger, they will be less likely to collapse and block the airways.

Sleep Apnea

It is fine to get a CPAP machine, it's natural for sleep apnea sufferers. People will feel better about knowing why you are using it, and they will be supportive. Your health is the most important thing you should be focusing on, not wasting time on what others think of your machine. It's quite possible they may find themselves with sleep apnea at some point in their own lives. Always discuss your sleep apnea problem with your doctor, but also try some self-help treatments. Quitting smoking and losing weight are beneficial to anyone, particularly those that have sleep apnea. You should stay away from alcohol, anything caffeinated and even heavier meals within the hours leading up to bed time. There are many simple solutions people suffering from sleep apnea can use to get better quality sleep. Target a specific time for bed and be consistent with it nightly. Make your bedroom conducive to getting a good night's sleep. Without the right conditions, you may induce insomnia. How you sleep influences how many times sleep apnea will strike on a given night. Because of this, your sleeping position should be the best possible one. Lift up the top half of your body with a foam wedge. Or, if possible, elevate the top part of the bed around four inches. Don't sleep on your back. Sleeping on your back can block your airways and cause sleep problems. Try side sleeping; if you keep rolling back, use a pillow to prop yourself sideways. If you are going on a long plane trip, call the airline you will be traveling with to ensure that you can bring your CPAP machine on the plane. They will usually accommodate you by giving you a seat where you can easily get to your machine. Remind them that you will need to plug your machine in, or you can use a machine that uses batteries as a backup measure. If sleep apnea is something that you are afflicted with, you might want to try the throat exercises known to improve the condition. You will have stronger muscles in your air passages that can help sleep apnea. Try to move your tongue up and down and flex your throat muscles as one type of exercise. Try this once every day.

Sleep Apnea

Be sure to see your doctor to participate in a sleep test if you suspect you may have sleep apnea. A sleep lab can tell you if your sleep apnea is a correct diagnosis for you or whether something else is going on. They can also recommend what will be helpful to your situation. After this you'll need to look at treatment options, even for a mild form of sleep apnea. If you are wondering whether you are experiencing sleep apnea, set a date with your doctor asap and request a sleep test. Such a test can both diagnose the presence of sleep apnea and determine to what extent you're afflicted with it. If you do have sleep apnea, you need to start treatment right away, even if your case isn't that severe. Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. Sleeping in this position increases the odds that your airways will collapse at some point, which will cause sleep apnea. Sleeping on your side is much better as it eliminates the extra effect that gravity has on you. It is unnecessary to suffer through each day while being tired and not in full control of your life. That is why it's important to get sleep apnea treated. When you get ready to go to bed tonight, take a moment to review this article and use some of the tips contained therein to help get a handle on this serious problem. A good many who suffer with sleep apnea are people who usually sleep on their backs. Should you be one of these, make a change in your sleeping position. You can significantly reduce your sleep apnea symptoms by not sleeping on your back and falling asleep on your side.