How To Keep Sleep Apnea From Controlling Your Life

There are hundreds of people who suffer from an unknown ailment - unknown even to themselves. This ailment is called sleep apnea, and aside from damaging the quality of a night's sleep, it also carries more severe health risks. This article offers tips on how to survive when you have sleep apnea.

Try yourself to sleep on your side. If you fall asleep on your back, gravity can make it easier for your tongue and/or tonsils to fall back into your throat and obstruct your windpipe, causing apnea episodes. While it may be hard a first, as time passes, however, it will start to become second nature to sleep on your side.

One way to improve your sleep apnea is to shed excess weight that you are carrying. Being overweight or obese places pressure on your neck, which can compress your windpipe as you sleep. Losing just 25 pounds can make a difference in your symptoms, and losing enough weight can eliminate the disorder altogether.

If you are overweight and suffer from sleep apnea, the best thing that you can do to improve your sleep is to lose weight. Sleep apnea is very strongly liked to obesity. Starting a healthy diet and exercising on a regular basis will dramatically reduce all of your sleep apnea symptoms.

If you have sleep apnea and are looking for a way to improve your sleep, think about using a nasal spray. If your nose is stuffy and clogged up breathing properly during sleep will be incredibly difficult and a nasal spray may be of use. You don't, however, want to use a nasal spray for an extended period of time because this can cause damage to your nose.

Make sure that if you suffer from sleep apnea you are getting enough sleep. Not enough sleep will not only lessen your chances of finding a sleep apnea cure, but will bring on insomnia. Try to relax yourself before going to sleep each night and avoid thinking too much about things that worry you.

If you think that you may have sleep apnea, set up a video of yourself as you sleep. Just be sure that the video recorder has sound capability. When you wake up, look at the video, and if it seems like something other than snoring is going on, it may be time to go to the doctor.

Stay hydrated. When your body becomes dehydrated, the secretions from your nose and mouth become more viscous and can exacerbate blockages in your airway, worsening your sleep apnea. Try to drink a minimum of eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated and keep your bodily fluids from becoming too viscous.

By understanding and analyzing these tips, you are better prepared to deal with your own sleep apnea, or even that of a loved one. You can turn nighttime from a battle into bliss or from purgatory into peace. By ensuring a good night's sleep, you will improve the quality of your entire life.