If you or someone close to you has recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea, this is the perfect article for you. By carefully studying the information contained in this article you can learn how to treat the disorder and ensure that you are doing everything that you can to protect your health. Read on to learn more.
Strengthen your throat and jaw with some basic exercises. Developing these muscles should reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea. You can exercise your throat and jaw by simply pulling your tongue or practicing some very simple breathing exercises. The goal is to train you to breathe differently and hopefully make your sleep apnea disappear.
If your sleep apnea is the result of narrow airways, try using a mouth guard when you sleep. These can help you breathe better and clear your airways. If this sounds like a solution worth pursuing, discuss the matter with your doctor and schedule a fitting for a guard of your own.
Do you regularly smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol? Quit these terrible habits. These substances influence your airways. Your throat can swell thanks to smoking, and alcohol relaxes your palate and allows it to drop to the back of your throat, which restricts your airway while you sleep. Try to at least smoke less, because it will help you deal with sleep apnea.
It is best to have your sleep apnea diagnosed and treated by a doctor. If left untreated, you won’t be getting the needed rest you need, which will leave you feeling tired and unable to concentrate the next day, and may even lead to serious health problems down the road.
Try your best to maintain a regular sleeping schedule. When your body gets into a customary sleeping cycle, you will find yourself getting a better night’s sleep, and you will also be more relaxed. Several studies have shown that apnea episodes decrease when a person is not sleep deprived or stressed out.
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.
A good way to determine if you are suffering from sleep apnea is by recording yourself when you sleep. You can do either an audio or video recording to catch your sleep patterns and sounds you generate when you are in a deep slumber. These recordings can be quite informative. Try doing them for several nights in a row to get a good range of information.
Anyone who suffers from sleep apnea should avoid using sleeping pills. It can be tempting to try to use them to help you sleep better, but these pills can relax your throat muscles and make your sleep apnea worse. They also have a number of other side effects that can be unpleasant.
You need to have patience when you realize you have sleep apnea. There are treatments that work for some, but not others. Although losing weight is known to reduce sleep apnea symptoms, people who are thin suffer also. Although surgery may be required to relieve your sleep apnea, many non-surgical options are available. However, there are people who prefer surgery over apparatus. Choose whichever method you think will work for you so you may begin to live a happy and comfortable life.
Avoid any type of drugs or alcohol if you are experiencing any type of sleep apnea. Drugs and alcohol will slow down your respiratory system, and that is known to be one of the causes of sleep apnea. If you are struggling with this issue, try to get some professional help to overcome these addictions.
If you use a CPAP machine and suffer from dry mouth as a result, there are two solutions. First, try increasing the humidity of your system. If that doesn’t work, you can also try a chin strap. One or both of these solutions can prevent the air leakage that causes dry mouth.
While you may not be obese or even very overweight, even a couple of extra pounds can cause sleep apnea. That means even if you have a little belly, you should work to get rid of it and see if that removes your sleeping problems. You will thank yourself for it afterwards.
Keeping up to date on new trends in the medical community can be very advantageous to sleep apnea patients. The American Sleep Apnea Association has a patient website that offers a wealth of information on issues related to the disorder, online support group forums and effective treatment options. You can find the website at http://www.sleepapnea.org.
Remain in touch with your physician and attend all scheduled doctor’s visits following your diagnosis. The physician can keep you abreast with regard to suggestions that may ease the condition’s difficulties. If you try something new, follow-up with your doctor in about a month so you can tell him how the treatment is working.
Sleep apnea sufferers oftentimes take sleeping pills in an effort to get a good night’s sleep. This is a huge mistake. Taking sleeping pills will actually make it harder for you to breathe while you sleep. This is because sleeping pills relax throat muscles, which leads to your throat getting blocked off. Sleeping pills can also cause lead to a number of other problems, including addiction.
Use a CPAP machine. You may not like the idea of sleeping in a machine, but many people who use a CPAP have found relief of their sleep apnea symptoms in a very short time. Such a machine may be uncomfortable at first, but if you stick with it, you will find a great deal of relief.
As was discussed earlier, if you or someone you know has received a sleep apnea diagnosis, it is crucial that you educate yourself and learn everything there is to know about the disorder. The health care tips that you have read about in this article can help you successfully treat sleep apnea.
