If you or someone you know wakes up often during the night, it might be due to sleep apnea. Read on to get more useful information.
If you have sleep apnea, yet you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, quitting could alleviate your symptoms. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the back of the throat, which will cause an interference with breathing. Avoiding these temptations can put more money back in your pocket, and is a lot more cost effective than expensive surgeries that may no longer be necessary.
Lose a few pounds if you need to. Studies show that sleep apnea and obesity. If you slim down, even just losing twenty pounds can significantly improve sleep apnea symptoms.
Do not consume as much alcohol often.Alcohol has a relaxing effect on all your body to lose their tension. While this might often be a desirable side effect of drinking, it tends to create the problem of sleep apnea. Alcohol has an effect on throat muscles and it can make it difficult to keep the air passage open. If you must drink alcohol, try to not do it prior to going to bed.
Children can suffer from sleep apnea, also. If your kid is acting out at school and cranky all the time, he might have sleep apnea. Such symptoms may mimic ADHD, so discuss the matter with your family physician and consider the possibility that your child has sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can be a dangerous condition to have. If you feel some of the symptoms, you should consult with your doctor right away.
One way to check out your sleeping habits is to train a video camera to record yourself as you sleep. The video should be equipped with sound so that doctors can also have audio to listen for any noises that occur during your sleep.
Attempt side sleeping. If you sleep on your back, this can make your sleep apnea worse. When you sleep, your throat muscles relax, and back sleeping causes gravity to pull the relaxed muscles downward, restricting airflow. Try to sleep on your side to avoid that. Prop pillows on one side to prevent you from rolling on your back while sleeping.
This little piece of fabric holds your chin that your breathing is not interrupted. Try this out CPAP therapy for your mouth closed.
If you need to be hospitalized for some reason, don’t leave the CPAP machine behind. Your CPAP and your mask should be with you whether you’re admitted to the hospital or visiting the emergency room.This will make continuing your CPAP therapy while at the hospital.
Without a partner in your bed to tell you how you sleep, you may not know that you experience sleep apnea. You can always set up a camcorder to make a video of a typical night’s sleep. The video should also contain audio in order to hear the noises that occur while you’re sleeping.
Sleep Apnea
Try and lose weight to deal with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is correlated with being fat and having a large neck circumference.
If you are using a CPAP machine but having trouble keeping your mouth closed, you should consider using a chin strap. A chin strap is a strap on fabric that can hold your mouth closed. Your mouth needs to remain closed for CPAP therapy to be effective.
Some great tongue exercises can help alleviate many sleep apnea.
Learn to play a wind instruments. This will provide you with considerable enjoyment of the relaxing music, it will also help you excercise the muscles responsible for your breathing control.
Never travel without your CPAP machine. You never should go a single night without your CPAP. Most machines come with a bag that they can be transported safely in. The bag should be used to secure your CPAP during all of your travels.
Don’t try to hide the fact that you use a CPAP machine.
Don’t sleep on your back if you have sleep apnea sufferer. Sleeping in this position blocks your airways, reducing the amount of sleep you get. Sleeping on your back is the worst possible position for people who suffer from this affliction.
Be sure to use just one, normal-sized pillow when you sleep. Puffy pillows, or using too many pillows, can put you in a position that interferes with your breathing. This may put you in a position that can adversely affect your breathing. Because of this you should only use one pillow for easier sleeping.
Sleep Apnea
Take action and figure out how to live with sleep apnea.Sleep apnea is often a progressive condition that tends to steadily worsen the longer it’s left untreated.
Mitigate the risk factors associated with sleep apnea. There are some factors that are unavoidable. These can include being male or family genetics. Being overweight, drinking, smoking and weak throat muscles can all bring on sleep apnea.
Throat exercises can decrease the symptoms of sleep apnea. These exercises help to strengthen the muscles that surround the airway, which makes them less prone to collapsing. One example is to hold your tongue up against the top of your mouth for three minutes. Do this at least once each day.
You may wish to discuss the tips you have learned here with family members and friends. If you just ignore sleep apnea, you are setting yourself up for future health problems and low quality of life. Print out this article to share with those around you, so that they also can share in your new-found knowledge.
Although professional medical advice is always warranted in treating sleep apnea, you can try out a few treatments on your own, too. If you lose weight and quit smoking you will be able to combat sleep apnea. Also, stay away from large meals, caffeine and alcohol a few hours before going to sleep.