Living With Sleep Apnea; What To Do When You Are Diagnosed

Living With Sleep Apnea; What To Do When You Are Diagnosed

After you got up today, were you exhausted, even though you slept for many hours? Your spouse may recognize that you are suffering from sleep apnea before you do. Does your snoring awaken you? There are many treatments that are effective in treating sleep apnea. You can find useful suggestions for dealing with the condition presented below. 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. Custom devices that control the position of an irregular attribute that you possess can give you a great deal of relief. To help deal with sleep apnea effectively, you should speak with your doctor to help him show you what CPAP machine works best. The machine size and how loud it is are things you should think about. Some machines are smaller than a bread box and can be whisper quiet. The physician should know which companies have the best machines. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed after a thorough medical examination. After taking all this information, your family doctor may send you to see a sleep specialist. This doctor specializes in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, and he will quite likely order a sleep study. Purchase yourself a mouth guard that is made specifically for your mouth. Mouth guards help keep your jaw in a proper position. This is a good alternative to using the CPAP machine. The mouth guard keeps your jaw in the proper position and keeps your airway more open. Keep a diary of your sleep habits to show your doctor at your appointment for sleep apnea. Here, you will track your hours of successful sleep, when you awaken through the night and other problems you may encounter. 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 will allow your doctor to see if you're suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Should you suffer from sleep apnea, keep a regular sleep schedule. Sleep apnea already disrupts your rest more than it should. Whatever you can try to help minimize the effects of this condition and help to normalize your sleep patterns can only help you get better. The biggest parts are going to bed and getting up at the identical times each and every day. Eating healthy foods consistently can reduce your weight and sleep apnea symptoms. Changing from a poor diet to a healthy one can transform your sleep apnea symptoms. It's been proven that poor diets can contribute to the severity of sleep apnea. If you are using a CPAP to treat sleep apnea, be sure to take it when you're going to the hospital. Your CPAP is set to your specifications so it will be easier for medical staff to help you out because you already have your own device. This is preset to your breathing pressure. In addition, you'll be using the same mask you've been accustomed to using each night. Even if you are hospitalized, you can seamlessly continue using your CPAP in this manner. Avoid sleeping pills if you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea. They can relax your throat muscles, making it hard to get enough air when you sleep. The medication can be very dangerous, even fatal, if you suffer from sleep apnea. Some useful tongue exercises can help alleviate many sleep apnea symptoms. Press your tongue against your mouth's bony palate and keep it there for at least three minutes. That will make your tongue and throat stronger and cut down the likelihood of those muscles relaxing and blocking the airway while you're asleep. 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. 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 can use this information to determine whether or not you're suffering from sleep apnea. Getting a CPAP machine is no cause for concern or embarrassment. Tell people that this is a necessity, and don't be self-conscious about having to use it in the presence of others. Remember that the CPAP machine is necessary for your health, and those who love you will not think any differently of you because you need it. Bring your CPAP along with you if you're going to the hospital. While a hospital will have CPAP machines, you may be much more comfortable with a machine that already fits you well. Your mask has been fitted to you or maybe you have a special humidifier attached to your mask that a hospital won't have. Having your own familiar equipment eases the strangeness of being in the hospital, and helps you sleep more restfully. Let the airline company know far in advance when you plan on traveling and you have to take your CPAP machine with you. Many will make arrangements so that you have a seat with plenty of room to use it. If the airline you're flying on is foreign, ensure you carry a power adapter. Only sleep with a single pillow of standard size. An over-sized pillow, or a pile of multiple pillows, can alter your sleep position with negative impacts on your ability to breathe freely. Pillows that lift your head can cramp the airways that you need to be open to be able to breathe properly as you sleep. So find a normal size pillow that is comfortable and doesn't contort your airway because this will help you sleep better and breathe easier. Sleep apnea is stressful. Baths can help. A good hot bath before sleep helps to relax the mind and the muscles. By doing this, it will probably be easier to fall asleep, which will lead to a better night of sleep, rather than a night filled with constant interruptions from flare-ups of your sleep apnea.

Breath Control

You aren't always going to be aware of your sleep apnea. If you have experienced symptoms like exhaustion, sleepiness, or falling asleep when you drive, talk to your doctor. Even if you do not realize it while sleeping, you could have sleep apnea. Take up a wind instrument. This will help to relax your body and mind while you are working muscles used in breath control. The training of these muscles will give better breath control and reduces the symptoms of sleep apnea. Try not to sleep on your back if you have sleep apnea. Many sleeping difficulties, like airway blockages, are caused or exacerbated by lying on your back when you sleep. Try side-sleeping, but if you can't do it naturally, try propping a pillow to force your body onto a side every night. Speak with your doctor about writing you a prescription for a heated humidifier if you have a CPAP machine to sleep. Warm, moist air will help keep you asleep comfortably. There are various CPAP machines that have humidifiers built in, so ask your doctor about prescribing one for your apnea. If you suspect sleep apnea to be the cause of your night time woes, arrange to have a sleep test with your family physician. This can determine the cause of your sleep problems, and if it is sleep apnea, you will learn how severely you suffer with the condition. Following the evaluation you can begin to look at treatment options, no matter how mild your case may be. Sleeping on your back can make your sleep apnea worse. Having a proper sleep position is necessary. Lift up the top half of your body with a foam wedge. Another option is raising your bed's top a minimum of four inches. Avoid back sleeping if you suffer from sleep apnea. Sleeping on your back does not allow enough air to get into your airways, making sleep apnea flare up. Sleeping on your side is ideal if you suffer from this condition.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea can be made worse if you haven't had enough sleep. Make sure you sleep on a regular schedule. Try to stick to the same bedtime and wake time every day of the week. This should stop sleep apnea from increasing to an even bigger problem. When you think you may be a sleep apnea sufferer, it's important to talk with a physician so they can schedule you for a sleep testing, if necessary. This type of test can help you figure out if you're suffering from sleep apnea and the intensity of the condition. The following step would be identifying a treatment regimen, even for milder cases. If you believe you may have sleep apnea, then make sure you visit your doctor to obtain an official diagnosis on the matter. This is a very complicated condition, one that requires the help of a medical professional. Speak with your doctor and let them know all the things going on in your life that may be the cause of this condition. Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. Falling asleep right on your back will hurt you, because you won't get a clear passage for your lungs to breath. Your best option if you have sleep apnea is to sleep on your side; gravity then won't work so much against you. In actuality, sleep apnea is simply a lack of enough oxygen while you sleep. This is why it can get worse at higher elevations. As oxygen levels decrease at higher elevations, this would seem to affect the sufferer of sleep apnea. If it is possible to avoid sleeping at an elevated height, it would be prudent to do so. You should now have a better understanding of sleep apnea and how to deal with it. The first step is the most important one, because it gets you on the way to relief. The advice you have just read can get you started on the way to a better night's sleep. Consider a mouth guard. You may have an unusually shaped mouth or jaw that is keeping your from breathing correctly while you sleep. A mouth guard will align your jaw correctly, which assists your breathing while sleeping.