Sleep apnea is an extremely serious medical condition that affects millions of people throughout the world. The disorder can have a number of negative consequences and cause a variety of problems. If you are someone you know are afflicted with sleep apnea, the health tips and advice contained in this article will be of great benefit to you.
Try playing a wind instrument. Playing the trumpet or a similar musical instrument should help you strengthen your throat and help you control your breathing. Your upper airways should become stronger and remain open throughout the night, which would make the symptoms of sleep apnea disappear or at least reduce them.
If you have sleep apnea, be sure to ask your doctor every five years if you should have a follow-up sleep study. As your weight and health change, your CPAP pressure may need to be adjusted. The most accurate way to reassess your needs is to have another sleep study with CPAP so the appropriate pressure can be determined.
If you have sleep apnea and cannot break the habit of sleeping on your back, try sleeping in a t-shirt with two tennis balls sewn into the back. Making this sleep shirt is a simple project to do at home, and it can help to break you of sleeping on your back. Every time you try to roll over on your back in your sleep, the tennis balls will remind you to roll back onto your side.
Avoid drinking much alcohol. Consuming alcohol causes your muscles to relax too much. People who are addicted to alcohol may learn that this is the cause of their apnea, and others who drink sporadically should know it affects them, too. Like the rest of your muscles, those around your throat and airway relax under the influence of alcohol, making it harder for you to maintain a proper air passage. If you have to have a drink, do it well before bedtime.
Try some throat and mouth exercises. One reason people suffer from sleep apnea is because their throats close when they sleep. Strengthening these muscles can decrease the chance that they will go slack while you are sleeping. Try some tongue, jaw and neck exercises to increase your throat strength.
Don’t sleep facing upwards if you are a sleep apnea sufferer. Sleep apnea strikes back sleepers the most. You can prop yourself up on one side with cushions or pillows to discourage face-up sleeping.
If you have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine to sleep at night, consider buying a marine battery as a backup power source. When you have sleep apnea, it is important that you use your CPAP any time you sleep. If your power should go out for any reason, you will still be able to use your CPAP at night using the battery hook up.
Reduce your weight to combat sleep apnea. Increased weight is often a cause of sleep apnea because the increased weight causes the airways to be narrower, thus allowing them to collapse more easily during sleep. By dropping your weight you can reduce the compression the airways and minimize issues while sleeping.
It’s a good idea to try to sleep on your side rather than your back if you’re struggling with sleep apnea. Sewing a pair of balled up socks or a tennis ball onto the back of your PJs will help prevent rolling over. It does so by making it intolerable to sleep on your back.
Relieve you sleep apnea symptoms by keeping your nasal passages clear. A good nasal spray can keep you breathing freely and lessen the occurrences of sleep apnea. Using a neti pot to clear sinuses before bedtime can keep you breathing freely all night long. Both nasal spray and neti pots are available at any drug store.
To lessen the severity of your sleep apnea at night, move around more during the day! Studies have shown that prolonged inactivity during the day will cause fluid-shifting and airway narrowing by the end of the day, when you lay back or down. To avoid this complication of sleep apnea, get up and stretch at least once every hour.
After your diagnosis, be sure to communicate with your doctor regularly. The physician can keep you abreast with regard to suggestions that may ease the condition’s difficulties. When you start a new treatment, meet with your doctor a month later to talk about its effectiveness.
Snoring and sleep apnea are two, totally different things. It’s important that you know the difference between the two so you can see your doctor if you think you have it. Signs of sleep apnea include extremely loud snoring, fatigue in the daytime, choking or gasping for air at nighttime and labored breathing.
Remember that CPAP machines treat the symptoms and will not cure your sleep apnea. The CPAP mechanically forces your airway to stay open while you sleep by continuously passing air through your airways. Although it will help your apnea symptoms, you will have to make other changes in your life if you actually want to cure your sleep apnea.
Be on the lookout for symptoms of sleep apnea that may occur during the daytime hours. Extreme drowsiness can occur at anytime when you suffer from sleep apnea. This can include spells of extreme sleepiness while you are driving a car. Do not ignore these symptoms as you can hurt not only yourself, but others as well.
Battery backup can be a lifesaver for CPAP patients when camping, traveling or during a power outage. A wide array of options have sprung up in battery backup units, with most CPAP manufacturers offering units customized to their machines. At just 2-3 pounds, many units won’t weigh you down, but will happily keep you moving through an active lifestyle.
As mentioned at the opening of this article, sleep apnea is a common medical problem that can have serious health consequences if it is not treated properly. The information you have learned from this article, if applied correctly, will help you to treat your sleep apnea and improve your life.
