Sleep deprivation causes many complications in life, and sleep apnea is a leading cause of sleep loss. If you suffer from this intrusive and frustrating condition, the following article may be of help. Read on for some great tips on alleviating symptoms and finally getting control of your sleep apnea.
Skip sleeping pills if you are prone to bouts of sleep apnea. You may feel you need them to get to sleep, but they have a similar effect as alcohol on the body. They also have additional side effects besides the obvious ones. Stay away if you want to lessen your sleep apnea symptoms.
Sleep apnea is very serious. If you think you may have it, it is important to make an appointment with your doctor to discuss it. After diagnosis, you may be referred to a sleep specialist who may order a home study using a portable monitor. In this way, the specialist can assess your condition accurately.
Try sleeping on your side to prevent sleep apnea from robbing you of a good night’s sleep. Your air passages are more likely to suffer obstruction when you sleep on your back. See if sleeping on your side doesn’t help your sleep apnea condition.
If you tend to snore a lot and have difficulties staying asleep, you should go see your doctor right away. You might have a condition known as sleep apnea: find an effective treatment so you can get enough sleep and go through your daily activities without being held back by your health problem.
If you can’t see a doctor about your sleep apnea, you can still do some things to help yourself. Everyone can benefit from getting thinner or quitting smoking, but this goes double for those suffering from sleep apnea. Overeating, consuming an excessive amount of alcohol and too much caffeine before bed can all exacerbate sleep apnea.
One way to prevent yourself from getting sleep apnea is to exercise your throat muscles and make them stronger. Sleep apnea is commonly caused by the throat becoming obstructed because the soft tissues collapse near the back of your throat. When your muscles get stronger, chances becomes less that they will collapse and cause a blockage in the airways.
Make sure to do some throat exercises every day to reduce any symptoms of sleep apnea. Try making silly faces and sticking out your tongue. It might seem funny, though according to some new studies, exercising your tongue and jaw on a daily basis can reduce the symptoms that you are experiencing.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, change your sleeping position to reduce the number of sleep apnea events. Sleep on your side instead of on your back to lessen the likelihood that the soft tissue in the back of the throat will collapse and block your air passages. Prop a pillow behind your back to help you stay on your side as you sleep.
Part of treating sleep apnea is working on exercises that open up the airways to get more air in. A great way to do this is by playing wind instruments, like the clarinet or the flute. Consistently doing this strengthens the throat muscles and opens up the airways as well.
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.
Sleep apnea is an issue of the throat, not your nose. So, if you can strengthen your throat muscles, you can actually reduce your problems. If making your throat stronger is something that you want to do, plenty of exercise choices exist that are quick to do.
Do not give up if the first treatment you try does not work. Give each treatment a few weeks before you decide to give up and move on to the next treatment. Finding the right solution can take some time, but you will be glad you went through this process.
Communicate with your significant other who may be sharing the bed with you. Sleep apnea is a serious condition that has many health risks. It’s important that you, as a family, are aware of those risks, how to combat it and tell-tale signs of side effects that can be harmful.
There are some dental devices that are available to help manage your sleep apnea. A tongue retaining device or a mandibular repositioning device both will help open up your airway to help reduces your sleep apnea. They work by repositioning your jaw or tongue so that your airways are not restricted while sleeping.
You need to get a mouth guard that is custom made for you! This type of appliance has had good results in clearing the airway, relieving snoring and addressing the symptoms of sleep apnea. The alignment of your jaw can contribute to problems with sleep apnea.
If you are skeptical about your sleep apnea or you are a partner of a person who doesn’t believe he or she has sleep apnea, set up a recorder in your room for one evening. Sometimes physical proof is needed for anyone to take the next step with sleep apnea. When you hear the actual sounds, you can then know how serious this condition really is.
If you are struggling adjusting to CPAP therapy for your sleep apnea, make an effort to educate yourself thoroughly about the equipment. Find out all you can about the different types of CPAP machines and masks. Knowledge is power, and this is especially true when you are trying to make positive changes to improve your health.
Sleep apnea is a dangerous beast. Nobody needs to be going through life on little to no sleep, but the obstacles posed by sleep apnea can be really hard to overcome. Hopefully, you have found a few solutions to your sleep problems in this article and will finally be able to get the quality rest you are in need of.