Learn How To Work With Your Sleep Apnea

Are you still tired when you get out of bed every morning, or suffering with headaches and irritability? Does your family think your snoring sounds like a jet engine? If this sounds like you, you could have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is very dangerous, so start finding a treatment regimen immediately.

Stopping bad habits may help with your sleep apnea. Drinking alcohol and smoking are very bad for the condition. Drinking helps depress your respiratory system, causing breathing issues. Cigarettes can hurt your lungs, possibly even causing lung cancer. Dropping both these habits entirely will help ease the symptoms of sleep apnea.

Try your best to use your CPAP machine as much as possible if you get one. Unfortunately, adjusting to this device while sleeping can be hard for some people. Good health over the long term is what is important, and you need to build up the amount of time you use it until you can use it throughout the night. If you find it hard to get used to your CPAP, use it for only 4 hours at a go.

You can both shed unwanted pounds and reduce the effects of sleep apnea with a nutritious and healthy diet. Not everyone is aware of just how significantly bad dietary choices can affect a sleep apnea condition. Studies have shown that people that eat poor quality food have worse apnea than those who are overweight but eat healthier.

Don't drink a lot of alcohol. Drinking alcohol relaxes the muscles of your throat and airway. While this might often be a desirable side effect of drinking, it can also cause sleep apnea. When your throat muscles relax, your airway narrows and causes sleep apnea. Try your best to limit your drinking if you do decide to have alcohol, and try to not have any right before bed.

Consider any alternative you can find to using sleeping pills. Sleeping pills cause your throat muscles to relax, just like alcohol. They also can cause other harmful issues to make your sleep apnea worse. See if your doctor knows of any sleeping medication that doesn't cause respiratory depression.

To help alleviate this condition, you should sleep on your side. A lot of people who have sleep apnea are back sleepers. Your airways become blocked when you sleep on your back. Try to sleep on your side to avoid that. If you move around at night and tend to always wind up on your back, try propping yourself up with pillows.

If you aren't sleeping with a partner each night who can let you know of any irregularities in your sleeping patterns, it can be hard to know if you have this condition. One way to see is to set up a video camera to record yourself as you sleep. The video should also contain audio in order to hear the noises that occur while you're sleeping.

Sleep apnea is serious and can cause various health issues, but it is treatable. Use the tips you have learned from this article to guide you in finding relief. If they're not effective, speak with your doctor immediately concerning other options.

Living With Sleep Apnea After You Have Been Diagnosed

Sleeplessness is not normal, and do not fall victim to that myth! This simply isn't true. Sleep apnea is a fact of life for many people and is something everyone needs to know about.

Get a personally made mouth guard just for you. These are a great aid to sufferers of sleep apnea. This is something that works well instead of using a CPAP, and it's more comfortable. You will find that this mouth guard stabilizes the soft tissues and allows the airways to be more open.

Going to bed on your side can be something you can do to help you get better rest if you have sleep apnea. Back sleeping promotes airway obstruction. Make a point of falling to sleep on your side and see if that doesn't alleviate some of your sleep apnea symptoms tonight.

Don't take sleeping pills if you can avoid it. Much like alcohol, sleeping pills can relax your throat muscles. They're also known for causing other problems in those that have to deal with sleep apnea. Discuss alternative methods for getting to sleep without altering your breathing with your physician.

Try sleeping on your side. Sleeping on your back is attributed to a lot of people who suffer with sleep apnea. Your airway can become obstructed if you sleep on your back. Sleeping on one's side is a better option. If you move around at night and tend to always wind up on your back, try propping yourself up with pillows.

Avoid sleeping pills when you find out you realize you are diagnosed with sleep apnea. They can relax your throat muscles, making it hard to get enough air when you sleep. Sleep medicines can cause more problems and can even be dangerous for people with apnea.

Many doctors ask patients to keep sleep logs to help diagnose sleep apnea. You will record when you sleep and when you awaken and anything else that happens during your sleeping hours. Your spouse can inform you of any excessive snoring, jerking, or momentary lapses in your breathing. This type of data can help your doctor diagnose the issue.

Try to sleep on a regular schedule if you have sleep apnea. Your sleep apnea is already affecting your sleep. Do whatever you can to restore your natural sleeping patterns, and you will find that you can handle the apnea a bit easier. The best thing you can do is fall asleep around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each day.

If you suffer from sleep apnea and you use a CPAP, carry your medical ID. Should something happen to you that requires medical attention, this will alert others of your condition. The ID should say that you have this condition, you require a CPAP, and it should identify the pressure levels you require for effective treatment.

You should now be more aware of the dangers of sleep apnea and will be better equipped to watch for its symptoms. Feeling tired all the time isn't normal and you should consult with your doctor.