Everything You Must Know About Sleep Apnea

Everything You Must Know About Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea may be the cause of your difficulties during sleep. This is a rather common disorder and can be difficult to deal with. Thankfully, effective treatments for living with this condition exist. Read the tips in the below article, which will assist you in dealing with this condition. You may be able to improve or eliminate your symptoms by quitting smoking and/or drinking. These habits can affect your airway, which makes sleep apnea and snoring more likely. Instead of costly surgery or some other medical procedure, losing these bad habits is the best way to save yourself money and address this condition. Avoid unhealthy activities to control your sleep apnea. In particular, alcohol and cigarettes are bad for you. Drinking helps depress your respiratory system, causing breathing issues. Cigarette smoke is full of cancer-causing chemicals which are bad for your lungs. These are both habits which can make sleep apnea worse. 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. These particular muscles impact your airway dilation and control how stiff your airway walls get. This means that if you practice regularly, you will notice a reduction in sleep apnea symptoms and snoring. Some people's sleep apnea can be traced to morbid obesity. Anyone who is overweight and suffers from sleep apnea needs to lose weight for the sake of their health. Try changing your diet and ramp up your activity level. Reducing carbs in the diet may also help. If your doctor has prescribed a CPAP machine for you, make sure you use it every night, for at least 4 hours. It can be extremely difficult for some patients to get used to sleeping with a CPAP. A minimum of four hours per night is needed, if your CPAP machine is going to help you. If you are having difficulty adjusting to it at first, try to make sure you at least use your CPAP four hours each time you sleep.

Sleep Apnea

Refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages as much as possible, especially at bedtime. Alcohol relaxes your muscles in a way that harms your breathing. Although many users find this to be one of the benefits of drinking, it tends to make the effects of sleep apnea much more serious. Your muscles will relax and collapse, which will make you snore and possibly cough through the night. If you have to have a drink, do it well before bedtime. Your doctor may recommend a mouth guard to help ease the breathing problems associated with sleep apnea. You might just have a small air way, if you have a recessed chin or a smaller jaw this can cause sleep apnea. You will get better rest if you use specialty devices to position yourself and align your jaw properly while sleeping. Try out other options besides sleeping pills. Just like alcohol, these medications relax your throat when you sleep. They may also cause complications for sleep apnea patients. Ask your physician about sleep aids that won't also affect your breathing. Go to the doctor to get a mouth guard that is custom made. For those who have sleep apnea, this guard is a wonderful thing to have. It is a more comfortable alternative to using a CPAP machine. You will find that this mouth guard stabilizes the soft tissues and allows the airways to be more open. Do not take sleeping pills if you have sleep apnea. The pills may relax the throat muscles so much that your airways do not function properly. These pills can become very dangerous if you have a bad case of sleep apnea; even though you might be tempted to use them to stay asleep, this is definitely not a good solution. Sleep apnea is a significant disorder. It's important to seek medical advice as soon as you suspect you may be suffering from it. An official diagnosis might mean consultation with a sleep specialist, a sleep test and monitoring to get a whole grasp on your situation. In order to make a proper diagnosis, your doctor may have you maintain a sleep journal. This log is where you'll keep track of how much you sleep during the night, and other symptoms you may experience. Ask your partner to keep track of your snoring, movements, and whether you stop breathing at night. This helps the doctor discern whether you have sleep apnea or not. Sleep on your side in order to get some better sleep. Your air passages are more likely to suffer obstruction when you sleep on your back. Do your best to fall asleep while on your side in an effort to reduce the symptoms of your apnea. If you are going to be hospitalized for any reason, bring your CPAP with you to ensure you get restful sleep. Whether the hospital stay is a planned one or it's just an emergency room visit, always bring along the CPAP machines just in case you need to stay for awhile. Your mask has been fitted to you or maybe you have a special humidifier attached to your mask that a hospital won't have. Doing so will make your hospitalization easier because you can continue to do your CPAP therapy. Avoid sleeping pills if you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea. These will make your throat muscles too soft, and your air passages will not work right. Avoid them at all costs to prevent yourself from hurting your body any more. Losing weight is a simple and proven effective method of decreasing your chances of suffering from sleep apnea. Many people have corrected their apnea by losing weight. The symptoms of sleep apnea can be greatly reduced by even a relatively minor amount of weight loss as the breathing passages and the throat open up. If when using a CPAP machine your mouth still falls open, use a chin strap. This minor fabric piece and make sure that your chin stays up and your mouth closed. If you have your mouth open CPAP therapy isn't going to work, so give this device a try to find out if it works. Find ways to decrease the risk factors of our sleep apnea. Certain risk factors that are associated with the condition cannot be controlled, such as being a man or having a family history of it. So make sure you try to avoid doing things like this so you don't get sleep apnea.

Nasal Spray

Sleep apnea is a condition that requires treatment in order to be resolved. There are various sleep apnea treatments for various people because no two cases are exactly alike. Obesity, asthma and allergies can all contribute to sleeping problems. Millions of sleep apnea sufferers find relief from non-surgical options like CPAP machines. However, other people prefer having surgery where they can make changes in overcoming restrictions in the airway passages. Whatever you do, it will help. Use nasal spray if you have a nose issue. This will help clear your nasal passages before you go to bed. Don't overuse nasal spray though, it can cause your nose damage and irritate it. Always speak with your pharmacist to make sure you choose the product that is right for you. If you have a long flight coming up, tell the airline that you are going to need your CPAP on board. Most carriers will make sure they seat you with plenty of room to accommodate 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. Many treatment options are effective in treating sleep apnea. Try out some of them, and use which ones work best. It is through applying these suggestions that you will find some much needed rest. Don't let sleep apnea run your life any longer. People who snore or even those who have sleep apnea may benefit if they learn to play a musical instrument. It is not only soothing, but in a German trial study, it was proven that playing the Didgeridoo or any wind instrument can drastically calm sleep apnea symptoms. Taking up an instrument can help you with controlling your airways.