If you suffer from sleep apnea, you know how elusive a good night’s sleep can be. Unfortunately, you also know how difficult it is to go through life without sufficient sleep. Help is here, with good advice on how to overcome the symptoms of sleep apnea, in the tips of the following article.
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.
Getting a CPAP machine is probably the best option for your sleep apnea. These machines will keep your airways open and help you breathe. You should talk to your doctor about CPAP machines and figure out which model would be the most adapted. This machine should work if you use it properly.
Avoid using sleeping pills and do not be tempted to consume alcohol before bedtime. Both sleeping pills and alcohol are sedatives, which can interfere with your breathing, as they cause your throat muscles to relax. You should also avoid other types of sedatives, including some prescription painkillers and many street drugs.
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.
Look for alternatives to sleeping pills. Sleeping pills cause your throat muscles to relax, just like alcohol. They may also cause complications for sleep apnea patients. See if your doctor knows of any sleeping medication that doesn’t cause respiratory depression.
Inform a friend or family member of your condition. Sleep apnea can be life threatening. It can also cause complications when combined with other conditions. Inform those around you of your sleep apnea. If the worst occurs, they will be able to pass this information along to a medical professional during an emergency.
Drink one cup of caffeinated coffee a few hours before you go to sleep. It may seem silly to drink a caffeine drink at night, but this can actually help keep your throat open while you sleep. You may have to play around with what time you drink the coffee to avoid restlessness.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can be improved by losing weight if you are obese. Losing about 25 pounds can dramatically improve this condition. For some people that will cure the problem, for others it may just help improve the symptoms that you are experiencing. Try to eat healthy and make sure to get enough exercise every day.
If you have sleep apnea, and you smoke, it’s crucial that you quit right away. Smoking causes the throat to inflame, making it hard for air to get into your airways. In fact, studies suggest that smoking may cause or worsen sleep apnea in some patients. So, avoid it altogether!
At bedtime, elevate your head using pillows. This will allow your airways to remain open as you sleep, and will reduce sleep apnea. Just make sure that your neck and back are comfortable so that you are not causing any pain in these areas while you are trying to help your sleep apnea.
Keep a generator at home. If there is a power outage, your CPAP machine will stop functioning. Some CPAP machines have a battery that will kick in if the power goes out but you should invest in a quality generator in case you have to remain without power for several hours.
If you have sleep apnea, do not use sleeping pills. These medications work to relax the throat muscles, which is not what you need to cure sleep apnea. They can also cause a lot of other problems, so it is best to stay away from them. If you have a hard time falling asleep at night, try learning some natural ways to rest your body.
Make sure that you are getting enough sleep every night. When you are sleep deprived, you may notice that your sleep apnea is worse. You also want the room you are sleeping in set up so that you can get a good night sleep. It should be dark, quiet and you should feel comfortable and at peace while you are sleeping.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, it’s important that you stay away from sleeping pills, cough syrup, or any other medication that may make you drowsy before going to sleep. These medications over-relax the throat muscles during sleep, even causing them to “collapse”, making it hard for enough air to come through.
Check with your doctor about any medications that you are taking that may be causing your sleep apnea symptoms. Some prescription medications, such as muscle relaxers, may, in fact, promote the collapse of the soft tissue in the back of the throat which can contribute to the symptoms of sleep apnea.
If a breathing device hasn’t solved your sleep apnea problems, then you may want to consider a dental device. There are a variety of types of these, but they can mostly be made by an orthodontist. They work by changing the shape of your mouth and throat while you sleep and removing obstructions.
Invite your significant other to come with you to your next doctor’s appointment. Not only will this educate your partner on sleep apnea, he or she can also inform your doctor about your condition through reporting on first hand experiences. Your partner can, better than you, describe the patterns that are occurring while you are sleeping.
Sleep deprivation is an awful sentence to suffer through, but that’s what sleep apnea gives you. Hopefully, this article has given you some helpful ways in which you can deal with the symptoms of sleep apnea, and start getting the much needed quality sleep you are in need of.
