Sleep apnea can run your whole life if you let it. It interferes with your sleep and leaves you tired and weak throughout the day. It is inconvenient and dangerous when it isn’t treated. Use the tips and trick below to treat your sleep apnea and enjoy life more.
You can fight sleep apnea by giving up certain vices. If you drink and smoke, it can make your sleep apnea worse. Drinking suppresses your breathing and causes a lot of harm to your respiratory system. Smoking damages the lungs. Dropping both these habits entirely will help ease the symptoms of sleep apnea.
One way to improve your sleep apnea is to shed excess weight that you are carrying. Being overweight or obese places pressure on your neck, which can compress your windpipe as you sleep. Losing just 25 pounds can make a difference in your symptoms, and losing enough weight can eliminate the disorder altogether.
Try losing a few pounds, if you suffer from chronic sleep apnea. Controlled studies have proven that people with this sleep disturbance benefit greatly after losing 20 or more pounds. Symptoms may even diminish completely, so you now have yet another reason to get your weight down to a healthier number!
You should know that getting a CPAP machine is not going to make your symptoms go away for good. These machines will help you sleep better and perhaps reduce your symptoms on the long term. Keep in mind that you really need to use your machine every night for this treatment to work.
If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and prescribed a CPAP, work hard to get in the habit of using it every time you sleep. While it can be a struggle to get used to sleeping with a mask on your face, your health and your life depend on it. Work with your sleep center to get everything adjusted just right so that you can use CPAP therapy with a minimal amount of discomfort.
People who do not have a partner sleeping with them may not know they suffer from sleep apnea. If you wake up with a dry or sore mouth, wake up out of breath, have morning headaches, insomnia, and/or go to the bathroom frequently during the night, you may have sleep apnea and should talk to a doctor.
Try your best to maintain a regular sleeping schedule. When your body gets into a customary sleeping cycle, you will find yourself getting a better night’s sleep, and you will also be more relaxed. Several studies have shown that apnea episodes decrease when a person is not sleep deprived or stressed out.
Always get enough sleep. When you fail to get a decent amount of sleep on a regular basis or fail to follow a normal sleeping pattern. Insomnia and sleep apnea go hand in hand. So, when you can successfully sleep regularly, your symptoms are less pronounced because you are well rested.
Consider putting yourself on a strict bedtime schedule and routine, if sleep apnea is keeping you from a good night’s sleep. Doing the same things at the same time may help condition your mind and body to better sleeping, and if you suffer from sleep apnea, you need all the help you can get!
There are known risk factors for sleep apnea. Some of obstructive sleep apnea risk factors are being overweight, a smoker, male, related to someone with sleep apnea or being Hispanic, Black, or a Pacific Islander. If you have one or more of these risk factors, you are more prone to being diagnosed with sleep apnea.
People who use alcohol, sedatives, and sleeping pills are far more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. This is because these drugs will relax the throat and cause their breathing to be impaired. Using these drugs before bedtime is more likely to cause sleep apnea than using these drugs during the day.
Doctors often recommend that sleep apnea patients consider treatment with a CPAP – Continuous Positive Airway Protection – mask and machine. The machine sends air through a hose to a mask covering your nose. The purpose is to help keep your airway open so you are breathing normally as you sleep. While the machine may initially seem a little foreign and uncomfortable, a great many patients adapt quickly and find they are getting much more restful sleep as a result.
Sleeping at a high altitude can worsen your sleep apnea because of the lower levels of oxygen. If you are going to a place located higher than what you are used to, take a CPAP machine with you. The best thing to do would be to completely avoid high altitude.
Quit smoking. Not only is it a good idea to quit smoking for your health in general, but it will also help with your sleep apnea. Smoking affects your lungs and respiratory system, causing your airways to swell and exacerbating your sleep apnea. By quitting, you allow your airways to return to normal and as an added bonus, you’ll also save a ton of money!
If you are suffering from sleep apnea, sleeping pills are definitely not your answer. Sleeping pills give you similar negative symptoms as alcohol would. These pills relax your airways too much and will worsen your symptoms. Not only will your symptoms worsen; you may experience other side effects as well. Lay off of sleeping pills for a good night’s rest.
Work with your personal health care provider in curing your sleep apnea. It is important that you get proper treatment for your sleep problems. Always keep your physician informed about your symptoms and any problems you are experiencing. They will be able to help you find the cure for your sleep apnea.
As stated above, sleep apnea can take control of your days and nights. Leaving you waking up throughout the night and still tired in the morning can take a lot out of your day. Use the helpful tips listed above to take control of your life back and enjoy each waking (and sleeping) moment.
