Enjoy Better Sleep With These Sleep Apnea Tips

Enjoy Better Sleep With These Sleep Apnea Tips

Many people assume waking up tired in the morning is normal, and they just need to deal with it. In actuality, most people that have sleep apnea don't know it. The following article offers some great advice on sleep apnea. Drop your bad habits to relieve your sleep apnea. Few things are worse for sleep apnea than drinking and smoking. Drinking potentially causes extreme breathing issues because it reduces the ability of your respiratory system to function. Cigarettes can hurt your lungs, possibly even causing lung cancer. Drop as many bad habits as you can as early as possible. Ask your doctor about a corrective mouth piece for your sleep apnea symptoms. You might just have a small air way, if you have a recessed chin or a smaller jaw this can cause sleep apnea. Specialty devices can alter your position during sleep and more properly align jaw elements, giving you a much higher quality rest. Do you smoke or drink? Try to rid yourself of these horrible habits. These items can harm your airways. Smoking swells up your airways, while drinking depresses your nervous system and muscles into excess relaxation. This can both cause and exacerbate sleep apnea. If you are having trouble quitting either of these habits, at least try to abstain in the few hours before bedtime.

Sleep Apnea

Some people believe that you can strengthen you upper airway muscles by playing a musical instrument belonging to the woodwind family. Research done by specialists in Germany indicates you can train your muscles in the upper airway by playing the didgeridoo. You'll have better control over your airway's dilation and the stiffness of the surrounding tissues if you exercise these muscles. These are great reasons to take up playing this instrument and easing the symptoms of sleep disorders. Lose a few pounds if you happen to be overweight and suffer from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea and obesity are often tied together. Therefore, just losing twenty pounds or so could help provide significant relief from your sleep apnea. Have your dentist fit you for a custom mouth guard. Specially made mouth guards are particularly focused for individuals suffering from sleep apnea. It is a great alternative to CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) and is much more comfortable to wear at night. The soft tissues are given the support that they need to keep the airways open. Have a mouth guard fitted for your needs. Some guards are made to treat sleep apnea. If you don't have CPAP, then this guard is an excellent alternative. Also, it's a lot more comfortable wearing this mouth guard while sleeping. The guard assists in opening up your airways and stabilizing the soft tissues. Avoid sleeping pills if you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea. The pills may relax the throat muscles so much that your airways do not function properly. The medication can be very dangerous, even fatal, if you suffer from sleep apnea. Do not consume as much alcohol as you used to. Alcohol is a natural muscle relaxant. While this might often be a desirable side effect of drinking, it can also cause sleep apnea. Your throat muscles relax too much from alcohol, which means trouble of your body to manage breathing. If you can't give up drinking completely, at least make an effort to moderate your intake and avoid having alcohol in the hours leading up to your bedtime. To help you figure out if you suffer from sleep apnea, you may be asked by your doctor to keep a log of your sleeping. Keep track of how many hours you're sleeping the entire night and any symptoms you have. Your spouse can inform you of any excessive snoring, jerking, or momentary lapses in your breathing. This type of data can help your doctor diagnose the issue. Lie on your side when you sleep. A lot of people who suffer from sleep apnea are back sleepers. The tissue in your throat and mouth can wind up obstructing your air passage when you sleep on your back. Try to sleep on your side to avoid that. You may want to prop yourself up with pillows so you stay on your side. Do you travel frequently? If so, then do not forget to bring along your CPAP. Using a CPAP is essential every night for those of you living with sleep apnea. You should have a travel bag that is padded that came with the machine. Use it to bring your CPAP machine with you, no matter where you are sleeping. A diagnosis of sleep apnea usually involves your personal and family medical histories, as well as a comprehensive physical examination. Your doctor might also choose to study you while you sleep. After studying this information, your doctor may send you to a specialist if necessary. Nasal sprays can help you sleep when your nose is being a nuisance to you. This type of product can ease occasional congestion or dryness. If you use nasal spray alot you may damage it. A quick trip to the pharmacy can turn you onto a host of different treatments that can help reduce nasal congestion.

Sleep Apnea

If you have sleep apnea, do not sleep laying on your back. Most apnea patients are "back sleepers", making it more likely that airway obstructions can occur. Use whatever means you can to keep from rolling on your back. Pillows can help and some people even sew a tennis ball into the back of their night clothes. Many doctors ask patients to keep sleep logs to help diagnose sleep apnea. Here, you will track your hours of successful sleep, when you awaken through the night and other problems you may encounter. The person you sleep next to can alert you to your snoring, if you stop breathing or you move your limbs suddenly. This can help the doctor determine if you actually have sleep apnea. Stop smoking cigarettes if you have sleep apnea. Swelling of the airways occurs when one smokes; this makes sleep apnea worse. Quitting can be handled through a cessation program or even nicotine replacement programs. After 30 days of dedication, you should almost be cured from being addicted to smoking. After that, it gets easier, because the nicotine addiction is gone. Think about using nasal spray if your nasal passages are stopped up. This should clear your airways, at least temporarily. Don't overuse nasal spray though, it can cause your nose damage and irritate it. Try other ways of opening this passage. Tongue exercising may help resolve certain sleep apnea symptoms. Place your tongue on your mouth's roof and keep it there for at least three minutes. This strengthens the muscles throughout the airway passage and minimizes the likelihood of them interfering with breathing and sleep. Consider purchasing a device that assists in reducing your snoring. When the airway is closed but still allows a little air through, that's when snoring is most probable; in sleep apnea, the airways are almost fully closed. Therefore, it is only sensible that a stop snoring device might also help with sleep apnea. Using a device that reduces your snoring will help you sleep better. Don't feel any shame about necessary treatments for sleep apnea, including lugging around your CPAP device. Make people aware that your life would be much worse with the machine. Also, don't be afraid to use the machine in front of others, including friends and your spouse. Undergoing CPAP therapy is an important step in preserving your overall health; don't let inappropriate social pressure prevent you from getting the treatment you need. Do not lie on your back when you sleep if you have sleep apnea. Sleeping on your back raises the risk of a blocked airway, experienced by many sufferers. Use a wedge pillow to stay propped up on your side. Many people that have sleep apnea sleep on their backs. If this applies to you, try switching the position you sleep in. Sleeping in a position, such as on your side, can help alleviate the problems caused by constricted airways.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is always made much worse when you're extremely tired each day. Make sure you're getting adequate sleep. Try to stick to the same bedtime and wake time every day of the week. This can keep your sleep apnea condition from evolving into something even worse, such as complete insomnia. One way to prevent yourself from getting sleep apnea is to exercise your throat muscles and make them stronger. When the soft tissue of the throat collapses, the airway becomes blocked and sleep apnea occurs. As your muscles strengthen, they will be more likely to keep your airways open. Many people find relief in treating sleep apnea with mouth and throat exercises. You have to work on your internal muscles and get them strong in order to deal with sleep apnea. You may see results after just a few days of doing exercises. If you have sleep apnea, you should not drink excessively. When you drink, the alcohol causes the muscles in your throat to relax, which will impede your airway and cause snoring. If you can, avoid all alcohol or make sure not to drink at all at least 4 hours before bedtime. If you do this, your quality of sleep should improve. Avoid alcohol, especially before you go to sleep. Alcohol can worsen sleep disorders, like sleep apnea. It slows down the central nervous system, and that can make apnea worse, and it makes it harder for someone to rouse you if you do in fact stop breathing. This combines for something that could prove to be fatal. If you suffer from sleep apnea and require a CPAP machine, talk to your physician about heated humidification with it. If the air you are taking in is moist and warm, you will have a better night's sleep. There are various CPAP machines that have humidifiers built in, so ask your doctor about prescribing one for your apnea. Find a mouth piece that will work for you or get fitted for one. These have been shown to relieve snoring by clearing the airways at night, thereby reducing the effects of sleep apnea. Sometimes, your jaw can cause your terrible sleep apnea symptoms. If you. or an acquaintance, has been too fatigued for a long period of time, you need to let a doctor know. Don't continue to suffer with this condition. Share the information here with others, and if you are the sufferer, ask your doctor about what you have read here. If you tend to regularly suffer from sleep apnea, consider taking naps during the day to help make up for lost sleep. Being deprived of sleep is bad for your health and your day to day life. Take a nap during the day to correct this problem if your schedule allows it.