5 Lifestyle Tips To Help You Manage Sleep Apnea
The quality of your sleep can be significantly affected if you have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is characterized by loss of breathing for brief periods during sleep, leading you to feel breathless and causing you to wake up often, disrupting your sleep. You may often not notice that you’ve stopped breathing in your sleep, but one tell-tale sign could be constant snoring. Aside from feeling excessively tired in the morning, sleep apnea can have long-term effects, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, if not managed correctly. Here are some practical tips to help you manage sleep apnea.
- Use oral devices
Oral appliances have become a common way of managing sleep apnea as they help keep your airway open while you sleep by repositioning your tongue or jaw. This way, there’ll be no blockage at the back of your throat, enabling you to breathe better while sleeping. You can get these devices over the counter or have one custom-made for you, but experts recommend getting one tailored specifically for your needs to improve your sleep quality. These devices also come in handy for those who are uncomfortable with nasal CPAP therapy. It’s worthy to note that you can get legal assistance if you ever experience any injury with any device such as a CPAP machine. For instance, if you’re in or around Illinois, you can visit https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/cpap-lawsuit.html to get the legal help you need.
- Manage your weight
Maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle is a great way to help you manage sleep apnea better. Medical experts state that obesity or excessive weight gain can make it easier for your airway to be blocked and make your nasal passages smaller, affecting your breathing while you sleep. Therefore, it’s advisable to maintain a healthy weight by eating healthy meals, cutting down on your salt and sugar intake, minimizing processed foods and being more active with regular exercise at least thirty minutes daily.
Many people recommend yoga, especially if you’re dealing with sleep apnea, as it helps boost oxygen flow and strengthen your respiratory system. It, therefore, provides you with several benefits, as it doesn’t only help you to manage your weight but also helps improve your breathing while you sleep.
- Change your sleeping position
Your sleeping position can go a long way in improving your sleep quality and giving you a good night’s rest. It can also help minimize any sleep apnea symptoms such as snoring. Research reveals that sleeping on your back can worsen your sleep apnea if you’re an adult. Therefore, it’s best to try sleeping on your side. You can get a body positioning pillow to help you do this. However, studies also reveal that children with sleep apnea should sleep on their backs instead. To help you find the best and most effective sleeping position for you, it would help to discuss it with your doctor.
- Limit smoking and alcohol
Developing healthy habits and making changes to your present ones can help you manage sleep apnea. If you smoke or drink, it’s best to consider quitting, or at least reducing your intake to help improve not just your health but overall well-being. Alcohol is believed to relax the muscles in your throat that help control your breathing, leading to snoring, airway blockage, etc. Additionally, smoking can inflame your airways and has been identified as a risk factor that increases your chances of having sleep apnea. Therefore, it’s best to avoid these as much as possible, especially if you’re dealing with sleep apnea.
- Consider using a humidifier
When the air is dry, it can irritate your respiratory system, making breathing slightly uncomfortable, especially during sleep. However, you can bring more moisture to your room by using a humidifier, which you can quickly get online. Using a humidifier will help open your airways and make breathing easier while you sleep. You can add some essential oils such as peppermint, lavender, etc., which are soothing and have anti-inflammatory effects. When using a humidifier, you must clean it often as it can store mold and bacteria over time. To do so effectively, it would help if you read the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Making changes to your daily habits, no matter how small, can go a long way in helping you deal with sleep apnea. Combining these lifestyle tips with medical treatment will make it easier for you to manage your sleep apnea and improve the quality of your sleep, in turn boosting your health and well-being.
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