If you feel you may be suffering from sleep apnea, you should make an appointment with your primary doctor for evaluation. He then may decide that you need to see a sleep specialist. Read on for information about sleep apnea, and decide whether you need to dig deeper into the causes of your snoring.
Excessive weight can be a major contributor to sleep apnea. In these cases, simply losing the extra weight can alleviate the symptoms. They should follow a sensible weight loss plan, usually involving a restricted calorie diet combined with exercise. It may be worth it to look into diet plans that reduce the amount of carbohydrates that you eat.
Get fitted for a specialty made mouth guard. Fitted mouth guards help people sleep through the night. A mouth guard is more comfortable than wearing a CPAP and is better to sleep with. The mouth guard helps by keeping the airway open and providing stability for the soft tissues.
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.
Make sure to provide relief for your allergies. Congestion can make it harder to breathe through your nose and force you to take in air through your mouth. Allergies can cause soft tissues to swell and make apnea much more severe. Research the medicines you use to treat your symptoms and be wary of adding side effects to the mix.
Do not let sleep apnea ruin your relationship. If your partner has difficulties sleeping next to you because of your snoring or other symptoms linked to sleep apnea, communicate about the problem. be understanding and consider sleeping apart or getting a CPAP machine to reduce your snoring and other symptoms.
If you sleep alone, you may have sleep apnea and not know it. Or you can record yourself as you sleep to look at your sleeping patterns. Make sure to record any sounds you make so the doctor can hear them.
Always bring your CPAP along whenever you travel. When you are dealing with sleep apnea, the CPAP machine should be used every single night. You should have a travel bag for your machine. You can use this bag to allow you to transport your CPAP machine with ease when you’re not home.
A great way to ensure that you do not sleep on your back and cause sleep apnea to occur is to use a tennis ball to prevent rolling onto your back. You can place one in a pillow behind your back and when you roll over in your sleep, the tennis ball will make you roll back on your side.
Eliminate or reduce your alcohol consumption to reduce your sleep apnea episodes. The relaxation that results from alcohol use can cause you to breathe less deeply and may also increase the likelihood that your upper airway will collapse. If you can’t refrain altogether from alcohol, make sure that you don’t drink for at least 3 hours before bedtime.
If you are searching for ways to prevent sleep apnea, try sleeping on your side as back sleeping lets gravity take over. This causes your tongue and other soft tissues in your throat to drop, which could obstruct your airway. Try putting a tennis ball in the neck of your pajamas to discourage rolling onto your back. You could even stuff a pillow with tennis balls and wedge that behind your back.
As you have seen from the above article, sleep apnea is treatable, but you need to take proactive steps into the treatment. The ideas above have given you a good foundation to find out helpful information, but, ultimately, a doctor’s visit should be first and foremost on your list of proactive steps.
