6 Tips to Help You Manage a Sleep Apnea Condition
Getting enough sleep at night is vital for each person’s emotional, mental, and physical well-being. However, getting sufficient sleep at night can often be difficult, particularly if you suffer from sleep apnea. According to Healthline, sleep apnea makes you momentarily cease breathing throughout your sleep duration at night. This implies you don’t intake sufficient oxygen and will likely gasp, thus waking up during the night. Apart from depriving you of a good night’s sleep, this condition can enhance your risk of getting a stroke, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, and heart attack, among other conditions. Since sleep apnea poses serious health issues, below are six tips to help you manage it:
1. Consider Using a Dental Appliance
Are you experiencing mild or moderate symptoms of sleep apnea during the night? Consider leveraging oral appliance therapy as an excellent alternative to a CPAP machine in managing this condition. The dental appliance is a uniquely built mouthguard that shifts your lower jaw forward to some degree. In turn, this stiffens the tender muscles and tissues at the back of your throat, preventing obstruction during sleep at night.
2. Install a Humidifier in Your Bedroom
Installing a humidifier inside your bedroom is useful in dealing with dry mouth symptoms, which are often related to sleep apnea conditions, and using a CPAP machine. Particularly, if you reside in dry regions, such as Arizona, installing a humidifier can play a vital role in adding moisture to the air. Dry air may inflame your throat and nose, forcing you to snore and breathe using your mouth when sleeping at night. Therefore, a humidifier can help open your airways and reduce nasal congestion while promoting clearer breathing.
For better results, consider adding eucalyptus, peppermint, or lavender oil to your humidifier. The three essential oils are rich in anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. Ultimately, combining a humidifier and the three essential oils can create a more conducive environment for better breathing, thus managing sleep apnea more effectively.
3. Avoid Smoking and Consuming Alcohol
Making some lifestyle changes can go a long way in enhancing your overall health while promoting better sleep at night. For instance, you could consider quitting smoking and consuming alcohol to ease sleep apnea symptoms.
According to studies, taking alcohol relaxes the throat muscles responsible for controlling your breathing. Often, this causes snoring and interrupts your normal sleeping pattern. Moreover, this can cause inflammation in your respiratory system, obstructing airflow. Equally, smoking tobacco may lead to the enlargement and inflammation of your airways. In turn, this may aggravate your snoring and sleep apnea condition.
4. Change Your Sleeping Position
Changing your sleeping position can be crucial in lowering sleep apnea symptoms while enhancing your sleep quality at night. Research carried out in 2006 discovered that over half of obstructive sleep apnea incidences are based on the patient’s sleep position.
For instance, sleeping on your back — often known as the supine position, may exacerbate sleep apnea symptoms. However, sleeping on the side can enhance normal breathing for some individuals. Therefore, consult your doctor regarding the appropriate sleeping position to help manage your sleep apnea condition.
5. Develop and Adhere to a Sleep Schedule
Although it can’t eliminate your sleep apnea condition, observing great sleep hygiene is an excellent way to manage it. Therefore, ensure you try as much as possible to maintain a regular sleeping pattern whereby you sleep and arise at the same time daily. That way, your body can adapt to sleeping and waking at a specific period, making it easy for you to fall asleep at bedtime.
6. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Health specialists often advise individuals suffering from sleep apnea to maintain a healthy weight. If you’re obese, particularly in your upper body, that can aggravate the risk of obstructing your airway. Such obstructions may lead you to cease breathing while sleeping at night abruptly. Therefore, keeping yourself fit and with a healthy weight can help maintain your airways clear, minimizing sleep apnea symptoms.
Conclusion
Overall, you can adopt many simple but effective strategies to manage your sleep apnea condition effectively. If you’re suffering from this condition, consider adopting the above six tips to put your sleeping condition under control and enjoy a good night’s sleep each night.
