How You Can Deal With Your Sleep Apnea

How You Can Deal With Your Sleep Apnea

Every time you wake up are you feeling fatigued, grouchy or just generally unpleasant? Is your snoring a source of complaint with your family. These are definitely hints that you may have sleep apnea. It is wise to deal with this as soon as you can, so get to a health professional as soon as possible. Do you sometimes drink or smoke? Try to rid yourself of these horrible habits. Both have a negative influence on your air passages. When you smoke it causes swelling in your airways, and when consuming alcohol, your airway muscles tend to relax. That causes the symptoms of sleep apnea to worsen. If you can't completely eliminate these habits, try avoiding them prior to bed.

Sleep Apnea

Children can suffer from sleep apnea, also. If you child exhibits certain symptoms, he or she might have sleep apnea. Sometimes, sleep apnea is confused with ADHD, and you should consult your doctor for the proper diagnosis. You can really cut back on your sleep apnea by giving up alcohol and smoking. Both of these cause muscles in your airway to relax, which can increase snoring and worsen sleep apnea. Quitting these habits may help you avoid costly and invasive surgery in the future. Try out other options besides sleeping pills. Relaxed throat muscles (caused by alcohol consumption as well as sleep medication) can contribute to an increase in sleep apnea. Natural sleep aids, such as melatonin, are much safer. You may want to ask your physician to prescribe something for you that doesn't have an effect on sleep apnea. To relive sleep apnea symptoms, play a wind instrument such as the flute or clarinet. Playing this kind of instrument strengthens your muscles in the upper airways. These are the muscles that control airway dilatation and airway wall rigidity. Because of this, regular playing of this instrument can aid sleep by reducing the various symptoms that sleep apnea produces. A good physical exam, and a look at your family history, can quite often easily determine sleep apnea's presence. 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. Try to sleep on your side at night. The airway obstructions that cause sleep apnea are far more likely to occur if you sleep on your back than in any other position. Try sleeping on your side at night and determine if that helps you breathe a bit easier. Assessing your sleep apnea potential might be hard if you there is not a partner in bed at night to give you feedback. To gather evidence a physician can evaluate, record yourself sleeping through the night. Make sure that the microphone on your recording device picks up any snoring or other noises you make while sleeping, because your physician needs to hear them.

Sleeping Pills

If you suffer from sleep apnea, avoid using sleeping pills. You may find these pills are causing your muscles in your throat to relax and this obstructs your airways. 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. Look for other sleeping aids besides sleeping pills. Just like alcohol, taking sleeping pills will make your throat muscles relax. They may also cause complications for sleep apnea patients. Consult with your practitioner to see what you can do to get to sleep without putting your breathing patterns at risk. Your physician may want you to write in a log or journal about your sleep, in order to check to see if you have sleep apnea. You simply log the amount of hours you're sleeping each night, and mentioning other symptoms too. If you have a partner, you can find out about snoring issues, breathing issues or flailing limb issues. This helps the doctor discern whether you have sleep apnea or not. Sleeping pills are not the answer if sleep apnea is your problem. Pills such as these may cause a relaxation of your throat muscles which causes your airways to not function properly. Sleep medicines can cause more problems and can even be dangerous for people with apnea. Reduce sleep apnea by shedding excess weight. Many people find that they can completely correct sleep apnea by losing excess weight. Even just a small drop in your weight can contribute to a better night's sleep, helping to clear the airways and your throat. You may have to maintain a sleep log for your doctor to diagnose your condition. Keep track of how long you are able to sleep at night, as well as anything else related to your sleeping process. Ask others in your home to let you know if you snored, woke up without realizing it due to your snoring or if you moved a lot in your sleep. Your doctor can use this information to determine whether or not you're suffering from sleep apnea. Think about using nasal spray if your nasal passages are stopped up. You will get relief from this for a little while. Remember that nasal sprays should only be used on a temporary basis to avoid nasal damage and irritation. Visit your local pharmacist to learn which nasal sprays you can pick from.

Chin Strap

You should never smoke if you are dealing with sleep apnea. Upper airways have a tendency to swell in smokers and increases the likelihood of sleep apnea. You could use various methods of nicotine replacement, electronic cigarettes or a stop smoking program to quit smoking.` Usually the first 30 or so days is the hardest part. After that, it gets easier, because the nicotine addiction is gone. Use a chin strap if you find your mouth continuing to fall open while you sleep with a CPAP machine. The chin strap will help hold you chin up during the time you are sleep which keeps your mouth closed. It is worth trying this simple fix, because CPAP therapy is ineffective if your mouth falls open while wearing the mask. Avoid alcohol when you have sleep apnea. Drinking causes the throat muscles to relax excessively, which causes snoring and a blocked airway. If you are going to drink, have only one a few hours before bed. In this way, the alcohol will not disturb your sleep. Your physician is the only one who can really diagnose sleep apnea in you for sure, but there are things you can do on your own to manage and combat the condition once you know. Everyone can benefit from getting thinner or quitting smoking, but this goes double for those suffering from sleep apnea. Curtail alcohol, heavy foods and caffeine before bedtime also. It is fine to get a CPAP machine, it's natural for sleep apnea sufferers. You will need to quickly get used to using it front of those who are closest to you. You have to use your CPAP machine or else you might not get a solid night's rest, so everyone you know should understand. While sleep apnea can be a serious condition that can cause many health problems, the good news is that it is quite treatable. The tips you've just read can help you when trying to find relief. If they're not working out for you, get in touch with a doctor as soon as possible. How you sleep each night can determine the quality of sleep you get and how bad your sleep apnea really is. You need to find the right position. Use a foam wedge to raise the top part of your body higher. An alternative method is to angle your bed so that the head is approximately four inches above the foot.