If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you may be in a state of confusion. Not knowing what to do is the hardest part about dealing with any affliction. If you’re looking for information, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading for some of the best tips for dealing with sleep apnea.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, it is vital to avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol acts as a sedative, therefore, it will naturally slow down your breathing. In addition, it will relax all the muscles in your body, including those in your throat that help to keep your airway open.
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.
A good diet can help anyone control their weight while also helping to fight sleep apnea. Not everyone is aware of just how significantly bad dietary choices can affect a sleep apnea condition. Someone who is overweight but still eats a healthy diet will have fewer symptoms of apnea than someone who eats an unhealthy diet but weighs less.
Try yourself to sleep on your side. If you fall asleep on your back, gravity can make it easier for your tongue and/or tonsils to fall back into your throat and obstruct your windpipe, causing apnea episodes. While it may be hard a first, as time passes, however, it will start to become second nature to sleep on your side.
If you are concerned your snoring may be sleep apnea, try keeping a sleep diary. You would keep a record of the hours you sleep, how many times you wake at night, and whether you feel refreshed the next day. Also, if you have a bedmate, ask them if your snoring is loud and frequent and if you exhibit any gasping or choking sounds.
It’s important to lose weight if you suffer from sleep apnea and you are overweight. The heavier you are, the harder it is for air to get down your throat. In fact, some studies suggest that obese people who suffer from sleep apnea can get rid of the condition by losing weight.
You can help lessen the effects of sleep apnea by doing exercises which strengthen the throat muscles. Sleep apnea is caused by the obstruction of breathing that results from the collapse of the soft tissues in the back of the 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.
Because sleep apnea is caused by weak throat muscles, strengthening these muscles makes good sense. There are many quick exercises that you can do to increase the strength of your throat.
Take any alcoholic beverages out of your diet. Any alcohol you consume can actually make your sleep disorder worse. This is also true for many different medications, like pain medications, narcotics and even anti-anxiety prescriptions. If you are suffering from sleep apnea and taking certain medications, talk with your doctor about potential side effects.
Snoring and sleep apnea are two, totally different things. It’s important that you know the difference between the two so you can see your doctor if you think you have it. Signs of sleep apnea include extremely loud snoring, fatigue in the daytime, choking or gasping for air at nighttime and labored breathing.
Make some drastic lifestyle changes if you must, in order to cure your sleep apnea. This means if you are smoking, drinking or taking sedatives, avoid doing so. If you don’t, this can worsen your sleep apnea symptoms. If you are addicted to smoking or drinking, consider getting help before being able to relieve your sleep symptoms.
Many people who suffer from sleep apnea can benefit from using a mouth guard when sleeping. These types of oral remedies have shown to make the airways free from obstruction and also help with snoring, which has shown in some instances to be the cause of sleep apnea. You may have a jaw that contributes to sleep apnea as well. This may simply be genetic.
Exercising your tongue and throat muscle is a smart move. Anything you can do to make the muscles in your throat stronger will help to keep your airway from collapsing when you sleep. A few exercises you can try include humming, clearing your throat and playing any instrument that includes your throat. Almost any exercise that uses your throat muscles can help to build a stronger airway which leads to better breathing as you sleep.
If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, it is important to remember to inform all your other doctors of this. Sleep apnea can affect your overall health and contribute to other health problems. Any doctor who is treating you needs to know that you have a sleep disorder and what you are doing to treat it.
Avoid using pillows that are too soft to reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea. A very soft pillow will allow the soft tissue at the back of the throat to collapse and block normal breathing. A special sleep apnea pillow, such as a foam wedge, can be used to give the head and upper torso support during sleep.
Now that you’ve reached the end of this article, you can see that there are things you can do about your sleep apnea. You don’t have to simply accept it. Use what you’ve just learned to get a handle on this problem. You deserve to get the sleep that you need.
