Sleep apnea is potentially life threatening as well as disruptive and inconvenient. For these reasons, those suffering from this condition must learn as much as possible about its root causes and treatments so they may be able to find relief. This article will share some helpful advice that will get you on the right path.
Get a mouth guard to help you sleep at night. A mouth guard opens your airway and facilitate nighttime breathing. Speak with your doctor to see if you should get a specially fitted mouth guard.
If you have sleep apnea and drink or smoke, try quitting to improve your symptoms. Both of these cause muscles in your airway to relax, which can increase snoring and worsen sleep apnea. Quitting these habits may help you avoid costly and invasive surgery in the future.
Limit your alcohol consumption. Your muscles are relaxed by drinking alcohol. If the throat muscles are too relaxed, they can collapse and block your airway. Your throat muscles become relaxed, making it harder for your airway to stay open. Try your best to limit your drinking if you do decide to have alcohol, and try to not have any right before bed.
You may be able to address your sleep apnea by simply changing from back sleeping to side sleeping. When people sleep on their back, their tongue and soft palate rest to the back of the throat, which blocks the airway. Make a point of falling to sleep on your side and see if that doesn’t alleviate some of your sleep apnea symptoms tonight.
If you sleep alone, you might have a hard time determining if you suffer from sleep apnea. To gather evidence a physician can evaluate, record yourself sleeping through the night. Make sure that the microphone on your recording device picks up any snoring or other noises you make while sleeping, because your physician needs to hear them.
Use only one, regular-sized pillow to sleep at night. Over-sized pillows may lead to you sleeping in an unhealthy position. This may result in breathing difficulties, because you end up in odd positions. This is why one pillow is best to manage your symptoms.
If your nose is bothering you, use a nasal spray. Using nasal spray a couple of nights in a row should help you sleep. Don’t use the product over a long period of time, though; that could cause damage to your nose. Always speak with your pharmacist to make sure you choose the product that is right for you.
Use a device that is aimed at helping you with snoring. Snoring is caused by your airway closing; apnea is when your air passage has closed all together. It is understandable that something can help this. Anti-snoring devices can help to reduce your sleep apnea symptoms as you rest.
Clearly, sleep apnea is a disruptive and frustrating condition. Fatigue, interrupted sleep, irritability and the dangers of sleep apnea are cause for sufferers to worry. Apply the things you’ve just learned, and start managing your sleep apnea tonight.
