Sleep apnea is a difficult disorder to deal with. It is not only an unpleasant disorder to live with, it is also potentially life threatening. Use the tips provided in this article to treat and control your sleep apnea for deeper, longer sleep periods to help you get through the day.
Follow your treatment plan including wearing your sleep mask. It is hard for many patients to become accustomed to using the CPAP. Four hours of use every night is the minimum necessary time you need to realize the benefits of CPAP therapy. If you are having difficulty adjusting to it at first, try to make sure you at least use your CPAP four hours each time you sleep.
If you are over weight, going on a diet can reduce your sleep apnea, or in rare cases, eliminate it completely. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you breathe easier, so losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight when you have trouble breathing is an obvious step in treating your sleep apnea.
Make sure to provide relief for your allergies. Congestion can make it harder to breathe through your nose and force you to take in air through your mouth. Allergies can cause soft tissues to swell and make apnea much more severe. Research the medicines you use to treat your symptoms and be wary of adding side effects to the mix.
Your kids may have sleep apnea. If you find your child is innatentive, always tired or uses their mouth to breath and not their nose, they may suffer from this condition. The symptoms often resemble those of ADHD, but you must consult with your doctor to know for sure.
Normally sleep apnea is diagnosed after getting a physical exam, but it also helps to study your family’s medical history to see if it’s prevalent among your relatives. Your general practitioner may order a sleep study. Based upon this, he or she may give you a referral for a sleep specialist. Sleep specialists focus primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of people with sleep disorders.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, you should treat any sinus or allergy problems you may have. You already are having difficulty breathing at night due to your sleep condition. You really don’t want anything else impacting your air flow during sleep. You’ll experience a better night of sleep and reduce the odds of running into serious breathing difficulties if you take care of nasal and sinus issues without delay.
Make a sleep schedule and keep to it. By sleeping at regular intervals and times, your body gets used to a pattern and takes advantage of it. If you are not getting quality sleep on a regular basis, your sleep apnea may worsen. Make sure to go to bed at a similar time every day and try to sleep a fixed amount of hours.
Consulting a doctor is important, but there are several options you can try at home. Quitting smoking and losing weight are great for anyone, but are even better for sleep apnea patients. Overeating, consuming an excessive amount of alcohol and too much caffeine before bed can all exacerbate sleep apnea.
Stronger throat muscles may help reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is commonly caused by the throat becoming obstructed because the soft tissues collapse near the back of your throat. If your muscles are stronger, their chances of collapsing and blocking your airways are minimized.
Avoid excessive drinking if you are a sleep apnea sufferer. Drinking exacerbates the airway constriction of sleep apnea by causing the muscles in your throat to relax. You should either quit drinking, or make sure you only have a single drink a long time before you sleep. This helps to avoid the problem of alcohol harming you from getting a good night’s sleep.
While sedatives and other sleep medications may help you fall asleep they are not so good when suffering from apnea. If possible, avoid taking any sleep aids to see if this improves your apnea problems. You just may find that something you thought was helping you to sleep was actually decreasing the quality of your sleep.
Prevent falling asleep on your back. Lying on your back when you sleep makes it easier for your airways to become blocked. Pillows may assist you in side sleeping.
Did you know that blowing up a balloon has another benefit besides making your child happy? This is actually a great exercise to strengthen the airways for those that suffer from sleep apnea. Repeating this balloon inflation five times in succession is recommended to get the most out of this exercise.
Surgery may be recommended if the symptoms of sleep apnea is the result of excessive amounts of tissue in airways or throat. The surgery entails a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP for short, and it helps to rid the airways of excess tissue which in turn opens up your airways allowing you to breathe more normally. Make sure you’re aware your tonsils are removed as well.
If you have sleep apnea, it is important to recognize and heed the signs of daytime sleepiness. When you have sleep apnea, you are at a much higher risk of falling asleep sitting up. This can be dangerous if you are driving a car or working. When you notice that you are feeling overwhelmingly sleepy, take a break and take a nap.
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 stated above, sleep apnea is not just unpleasant and tiring. When left untreated it is potentially fatal. Use the tips outlined in the article above to help deal with sleep apnea. Treat your sleep apnea and get it under control and enjoy longer and deeper periods of sleep.
