Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that causes heart pauses and interrupts breathing. Sleep apnea is often confused with snoring, but it is very dangerous and can cause life-threatening diseases such as stroke, diabetes type 2, heart failure, and others. Major lifestyle changes can manage sleep apnea as well as using medication and surgery. WellAwareSystems can help you with tips on how to sleep better. Here are some methods to reduce sleep apnea.
Surgical Procedures
With severe and prolonged sleep apnea, your doctor might recommend a surgical procedure as a permanent solution. Doctors will use laser technology to remove tissues from the top of your throat or back of your mouth. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) procedure can also remove tonsils and adenoids.
Jaw surgery can be done by moving the upper and lower part of the jaw to make the space between the tongue and soft palate bigger. You might need a tracheostomy if other methods are not helpful. In this surgery, a tube will be inserted inside the throat. This way, you will bypass blocked air in your throat when the air in and out of your lungs.
Reduce Drinking and Smoking
As it is known, smoking causes breathing problems, which leads to sleep apnea. Smoking causes the swelling of the upper airway.
A lot of alcohol intake interferes with the airflow by decreasing the muscle tone at the back of the throat. The throat muscles are relaxed when taking alcohol, leading to problems like snoring. It is said that completely quitting smoking helps treat sleep apnea.
Change Sleeping Position
According to research, it was discovered that most sleep apnea cases depended on sleeping positions. It is recommended to sleep on the side for adults and avoid sleeping on your back. In children, it was found that sleeping on their backs helps treat sleep apnea. A good sleeping position relaxes and makes your night rest comfortable.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
50% of people with sleep apnea have obesity. A study done on obese people with diabetes type 2 who joined a weight loss group showed they lost 24 pounds on average. Symptoms of sleep apnea are often reducing when you start cutting weight. A healthy weight keeps the airways clean and maintains the size of the nasal passage.
Try Exercise
Slow and decreased saturation of oxygen in the body causes sleep apnea. Stretches and exercises like yoga create a smooth oxygen flow. Breathing in and out in yoga helps to improve your respiratory strength. The exercise will relax your brain, encouraging an efficient supply of blood to the brain. At night you will experience little or no interruptions in your sleep.
CPAP Therapy
This is one of the common and traditional ways of treating sleep apnea. You wear a mask at night while sleeping to control your breathing and prevent heart pauses. CPAP treatment fixes snoring and ensures your night is comfortable. A CPAP machine works by increasing the throat’s pressure to prevent collapsing of the airway when breathing.