Many people who have worried about sleep apnea have sought proper treatment. There’s no better way to start the process of treating this condition than to educate yourself on the subject. You’ll have a better understanding of the different treatment options available to you once you take a look at the suggestions presented below.

Try losing a few pounds, if you suffer from chronic sleep apnea. Controlled studies have proven that people with this sleep disturbance benefit greatly after losing 20 or more pounds. Symptoms may even diminish completely, so you now have yet another reason to get your weight down to a healthier number!

Consider doing a few very specific exercises before going to bed each night, to alleviate some of your sleep apnea symptoms. Exercising throat and tongue muscles has been proven in scientific studies to reduce snoring, improve breathing and lessen the more profound effects of sleep apnea when done according to doctor’s orders.

If you are unsure whether or not you have sleep apnea, consider setting up an audio or video recorder next to your bed. When you review the recording, watch or listen for choking, gasping or other signs that you are not getting enough air as you sleep. Present your findings to your doctor if you suspect that you do have apnea.

If you do not know if your snoring is from sleep apnea or just simple snoring, try using a sleep diary. In this diary, you will need to record how much time you spend in bed, the number of times that you awaken each night, and how tired you feel when you arise in the morning.

If you sleep alone, figuring out if you suffer from sleep apnea may be difficult. You can remedy this problem by setting up a recorder that can film you while you’re sleeping at night. Make sure that the microphone on your recording device picks up any snoring or other noises you make while sleeping, because your physician needs to hear them.

If you will be away from home and you’re suffering with sleep apnea, always remember to bring along the CPAP machine with you. When you are dealing with sleep apnea, the CPAP machine should be used every single night. Your machine should include a padded travel bag. You can use this bag to allow you to transport your CPAP machine with ease when you’re not home.

Try to prevent snoring with an over-the-counter device. Snoring occurs when airways are mostly closed up with a little air getting through, but sleep apnea occurs when the airways completely close up. It actually makes sense that your device can assist with the latter if it can help you with the former. If you have a machine to help with snoring it can help with apnea.

It’s important to lose weight if you suffer from sleep apnea and you are overweight. The heavier you are, the harder it is for air to get down your throat. In fact, some studies suggest that obese people who suffer from sleep apnea can get rid of the condition by losing weight.

Playing a wind instrument can be helpful for sleep apnea. This will not only be fun and relaxing, it will also help you excercise the muscles responsible for your breathing control. As you make these muscles stronger, you will see increased control and minimize apnea symptoms.

Even though you want to sleep better, do not take sleeping medication if you suffer from, or have a history of sleep apnea. What you may think will help will only make the condition worse by relaxing your muscles even more when you sleep. If you suffer from insomnia along with sleep apnea, speak with your doctor.

At bedtime, elevate your head using pillows. This will allow your airways to remain open as you sleep, and will reduce sleep apnea. Just make sure that your neck and back are comfortable so that you are not causing any pain in these areas while you are trying to help your sleep apnea.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, do not be shy about telling your friends and family. Sleep apnea is an extremely common condition. It is very possible that someone you know and love has it too and has not been diagnosed yet. By sharing your experience, you could help someone else realize they have a problem and encourage them to seek treatment.

Prior to going to bed, it is important to open up your nasal passages. This is so that you get enough air flow. To open up the nasal passages, you may want to use saline spray, a nasal dilator, a neti pot, breathing strips or whatever your doctor may have recommended.

Many people suffering from sleep apnea are aware of the long process of finding an effective treatment. It is very important to learn all that you can about sleep apnea and address it. Use the information you’ve learned from the preceding paragraphs to start an effective treatment program that makes your suffering a thing of the past.

Don’t Let Sleep Apnea Keep You Down was originally published on Spring