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Monday, November 25, 2013

Control Your Sleep Apnea With These Tips

Control Your Sleep Apnea With These Tips

Do you wake up feeling as though you never even slept? Is your sleep partner complaining that your snoring is all throughout the night? Has your own snoring woken you up before? You may well be suffering from sleep apnea, but don't panic. This post can help you battle this problem. It is important to stay away from alcohol if you have sleep apnea because it can help you see some improvement with the condition. Both of these bad habits can cause the airway muscles to relax, which makes you snore and adds to the symptoms of sleep apnea. Avoiding these temptations can put more money back in your pocket, and is a lot more cost effective than expensive surgeries that may no longer be necessary. While people who are thin can have sleep apnea for various reasons, one common reason many people have it is being overweight. If this happens to be the problem then anyone dealing with sleep apnea should immediately shed this weight. Make sure that you stick with a plan that makes sense and combine a low calorie diet with an exercise regimen. According to recent scientific work, many people looking to lose weight can also benefit from reducing their intake of carbohydrates. Lose some weight if you're heavy. Obesity has clearly been linked with sleep apnea in multiple studies. A loss of 10 or more pounds can significantly reduce our sleep apnea symptoms. If you are suffering with sleep apnea due to having narrow airways, you should get yourself a mouth guard to use when sleeping. This opens up your airways, letting you breathe fully while you sleep. Talk to your physician about these, and get a fitting if you two think it might work. Get a mouth guard made specifically for you. These are made for people with sleep apnea. Many people find they can adjust to wearing a mouth guard every night while they sleep much more easily than they can get used to wearing a CPAP mask. A mouth guard will work by positioning the jaw and tongue in a helpful way that will allow for easier breathing while asleep.

Cpap Machine

Eating right can keep you healthy and well rested. Despite what you may think, diet plays a major part in the ability to sleep. Research shows that people who eat an unhealthy diet have more severe apnea than some overweight people who eat healthier. Get through sleep apnea by consulting with your practitioner about getting a CPAP machine. The loudness and size of any machine should be considered. There are CPAP machine which are easily portable and produce little noise. Your doctor will likely have a preferred brand or type of CPAP to recommend to you. Try sleeping on your side to prevent sleep apnea from robbing you of a good night's sleep. The airway obstructions that cause sleep apnea are far more likely to occur if you sleep on your back than in any other position. Give sleeping on your side a try, and see if your symptoms improve. Shedding some excess pounds is a good idea if you're overweight. Several studies have shown that there is a link between obesity and sleep apnea. As a result, the loss of just twenty or twenty five pounds can make a significant difference in reducing your symptoms of sleep apnea. Sleep with your body perpendicular to the bed. Many folks afflicted with sleep apnea rest on their backs. When you sleep on your back, tissue can block your throat and airways. Breathing is much simpler when you sleep on one of your sides. To prevent rolling over onto your back while you sleep, build a wall of pillows behind yourself. Children are susceptible to sleep apnea. Children who are frequently tired or who have a poor attention span may have sleep issues. These symptoms are quite similar to ADHD, so it's important to get an accurate diagnosis because treatments for these two disorders are quite different. The two main pieces of information used to diagnose sleep apnea are personal medical histories and a physical work-up. Your PCP may ask for a sleep study to be done by a sleep specialist.

Sleep Apnea

You may have to maintain a sleep log for your doctor to diagnose your condition. All hours slept or spent awake should be recorded. If you sleep with another person, they'll be able to help you keep track of snoring, interruptions in breathing, or jerking of your limbs. This diary will help a medical professional see patterns in your sleep habits. When you suffer from sleep apnea, you should do your best to stick to the same sleep schedule each day. Sleep apnea can disrupt your sleep every night. Try your best to get a regular sleep pattern after you find out you have sleep apnea, this will help your overall health improve. So try and get into bed around the same times every night. Remember to keep your medical ID upon your person if you make use of a CPAP for your sleep apnea. If you need medical attention, it's crucial that others realize that you've got sleep apnea and that you use a CPAP. The ID should say that you have this condition, you require a CPAP, and it should identify the pressure levels you require for effective treatment. If you are using a CPAP and experience an issue with your mouth opening during sleep, a chin strap can help. A chin strap is a strap on fabric that can hold your mouth closed. It is worth trying this simple fix, because CPAP therapy is ineffective if your mouth falls open while wearing the mask. If you are having issues with your nose, you can use nasal spray. Using nasal spray a couple of nights in a row should help you sleep. Nasal sprays with medications should not be used for many days in a row, however, because they can damage the nose. Ask your pharmacist what other options you can try to keep your nasal passages clear. If your current treatment options are not cutting it, speak to a doctor about additional techniques that may be suitable. A lot of people do not do well on some of the treatments, requiring complicated surgeries to enhance their airway. Losing weight will often make a big difference for patients suffering from sleep apnea. The condition is common in overweight patients that have larger neck circumferences. Losing the excess weight can greatly lower the pressure it puts on your airways and helps to get air flowing freely so you can breathe much better at night. Use only one, regular-sized pillow to sleep at night. Your sleeping position can be affected negatively by multiple pillows or an over-sized one. It will make breathing harder than it needs to be. That's why using one pillow may be the answer to your sleep apnea problem. There are throat exercises for sleep apnea sufferers that have been found quite effective. They tone and strengthen the muscles, giving you more control over them. There are many exercises that are helpful, but one of them is to push your tongue very firmly up against the back of your front teeth. Then slide your tongue to the back of your mouth, and repeat this cycle for at least three minutes. Do this exercise once each day.

Sleep Apnea

Do not drink any alcohol immediately prior going to bed. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in your throat making sleep apnea's symptoms more severe. You do not have to stop drinking, just do not do it before you go to sleep. If a person has sleep apnea and is overweight, they can often reduce their symptoms by losing some weight. Sleep apnea is common to those that have large necks or that are overweight. If you shed some pounds you will see that your airways will not be as constricted. If extra tissue is present in your throat airways, it could be causing your sleep apnea and could possibly necessitate surgical removal. This surgery, called UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) gets rid of the additional tissue, thus, opening your airway and getting rid of the sleep apnea. You should know that this involves removal of your tonsils as well. Always discuss your sleep apnea problem with your doctor, but also try some self-help treatments. Anyone can enjoy better health from quitting smoking and dropping some unwanted pounds, but anyone afflicted with sleep apnea can really benefit from these lifestyle changes. You should stay away from alcohol, anything caffeinated and even heavier meals within the hours leading up to bed time. Daytime napping can help combat against sleep apnea. Depriving yourself of sleep can do some serious damage to anyone's health, and it also hurts your ability feel normal. Take an afternoon nap to give yourself more quality hours of sleep for the day. Avoid alcohol if you have sleep apnea. Consuming alcohol results in throat relaxation that is more than normal. Snoring and obstructed air passages both result. You should either quit drinking, or make sure you only have a single drink a long time before you sleep. You don't need alcohol to compound your issues with sleep apnea, and following this advice will help alleviate that. Try out all treatment options that are presented to you. Think about taking some time off and you will see that you are not as alert. Be assured that your symptoms will come back quickly and affect your life again without continuous treatment. You should now have a better understanding of sleep apnea and how to deal with it. This step is really critical, yet a good number of sufferers have not even gone this far. After today, you should know how to tackle sleep apnea and discover a good night's sleep. Try to tone your throat muscles if you have sleep apnea. Your airway will be more likely to stay open the stronger your throat muscles are. Ways to strengthen your throat muscles include playing the flute, making funny faces, and sticking out your tongue. Any of these give your throat muscles exercise.

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