You may feel that your sleep apnea diagnosis is the end of your world. Perhaps you have never felt so alone as when your doctor gave you the news. Take heart though, because you are definitely not alone. Thousands are diagnosed with sleep apnea every year, and you can learn from their experiences.
If you have moderate to severe sleep apnea, lose some weight. Being over-weight or obese can affect your breathing severely and can cause many health problems, including sleep apnea. Those individuals who lost at least twenty to twenty-five excess pounds saw a marked improvement in respiratory issues related to sleep apnea.
Think about changing a few of your habits to help with your sleep apnea. Two of the biggest problems are drinking and smoking. Alcohol depresses your nervous system and makes it harder to breathe, particularly when you are asleep. And when you smoke you inhale a bunch of carcinogens that can seriously damage your lungs. Eliminating these habits is going to help alleviate sleep apnea symptoms.
Are you a drinker or a smoker? Eliminate these unhealthy habits. These substances can really harm your airways. Alcohol can relax airways while smoking can cause them to swell, both of which can cause you to have sleep apnea. If you can’t quit, at least don’t drink or smoke right before going to bed.
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.
Get a checkup regularly and act upon your doctor’s suggestions. Besides excess weight, you could be suffering from health issues such as heart disease and hypertension, which can greatly increase your chance of suffering from sleep apnea. Even problems with blood sugar can make sleeping a miserable experience for apnea sufferers.
You really need to do your best to lose weight if you have sleep apnea. Those who have sleep apnea typically have a neck circumference of 17 inches or more. This excess weight around the throat causes the airway to collapse more easily during sleep. Reducing your weight by even ten pounds can have a beneficial impact on your sleep apnea.
Eating healthy can help you manage sleep apnea and lose weight. Most people would find it surprising to know that your diet can be a factor in managing sleep apnea. Research shows that people who eat an unhealthy diet have more severe apnea than some overweight people who eat healthier.
Sleep apnea afflicts children too. Children who are frequently tired or who have a poor attention span may have sleep issues. Often these symptoms are similar to ADHD, but you need to talk to a physician and consider sleep apnea as a cause as well.
Everyone who snores does not have sleep apnea. Conversely, everyone who has sleep apnea does not necessarily snore either. How do you know the difference? The biggest signs are how you feel during the course of a normal day. Snoring does not interfere with the sleep quality the same way that sleep apnea does. With snoring you are less likely to suffer from fatigue during the day.
Sleep on your side in order to get some better sleep. Sleeping on your back can obstruct your airways and cause apnea. Give sleeping on your side a try, and see if your symptoms improve.
Do not let sleep apnea ruin your relationship. If your partner has difficulties sleeping next to you because of your snoring or other symptoms linked to sleep apnea, communicate about the problem. be understanding and consider sleeping apart or getting a CPAP machine to reduce your snoring and other symptoms.
Keep your bedroom in prime shape for sleeping. Insomnia and sleep apnea are often connected. This makes keeping an environment in which you sleep at the right temperature, lightness level and sound level important for helping you get a good night of rest. The right environment also means leaving your stresses outside the bedroom to ensure you are relaxed enough to fall asleep.
If you will be away from home and you’re suffering with sleep apnea, always remember to bring along the CPAP machine with you. If you have sleep apnea, you need to use your CPAP every night. Most machines come with a travel pack anyway. This bag will help you safely travel with your CPAP machine when you are on vacation.
If you can’t see a doctor about your sleep apnea, you can still do some things to help yourself. Anyone can enjoy better health from quitting smoking and dropping some unwanted pounds, but anyone afflicted with sleep apnea can really benefit from these lifestyle changes. Also, stay away from large meals, caffeine and alcohol a few hours before going to sleep.
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!
Keep a humidifier in your room to keep your skin from getting to dry while using CPAP devices. A humidifier will increase the moisture in the room to keep your skin from getting too dry and irritated. You might also want to try an intensive lotion for dry skin.
Use a tennis ball to help you sleep on your side. When you sleep on your back, you can have a hard time breathing, so make sure that you do something that helps you avoid back sleeping. A tennis ball sewn into the back of your pajamas will feel uncomfortable if you sleep on your back, so your body will learn to be on the side.
A sleep apnea diagnosis is definitely not the end of your happy little world. In fact, it might just be the start of a whole new healthier chapter in your life. Take the tips you learned in this article, and start to make positive changes in your life that can help you to rest easier.
