Did you wake up this morning feeling incredibly tired even though you were in bed for the right amount of time? Does your sleeping partner constantly complain about your loud snoring? Have you every snored loud enough to wake yourself up? If so, you may have sleep apnea. If that is the case, there is no need to worry. This article can help you with this problem.

If you have sleep apnea, try sleeping on your side. If you are a back or stomach sleeper, gravity is working against you all night. Your airway is much more likely to collapse if you are facing straight up or down. Sleeping on your side instead makes it much easier for your body to maintain your airway as you sleep.

If you suffer from sleep apnea, make sure your significant other or your family is aware of your condition. In emergency situations, it is vital that whoever is with you can tell the physician treating you about your condition during any emergency medical care. You should make them aware of both the apnea diagnosis and your treatment.

People with sleep apnea who need a CPAP should have a medical ID that identifies the problem. If anything happens where you require medical attention, those assisting you need to know about both your sleep apnea and the CPAP. This identification card should tell caregivers that you suffer from sleep apnea, and that you make use of a CPAP set to a specified pressure level to sleep.

If you need to be hospitalized for some reason, be sure that you take your CPAP machine with you to the hospital. Whether you have a planned hospitalization or you need to go to the emergency room, you should have your CPAP and mask available for use while you are there. It already has your pressure settings dialed in, and your mask is something your used to wearing at night. Staying in a hospital is tough enough, and you might as well bring your own machine along to help ease the visit as much as you can.

A great way to ensure that you do not sleep on your back and cause sleep apnea to occur is to use a tennis ball to prevent rolling onto your back. You can place one in a pillow behind your back and when you roll over in your sleep, the tennis ball will make you roll back on your side.

Eliminate or reduce your alcohol consumption to reduce your sleep apnea episodes. The relaxation that results from alcohol use can cause you to breathe less deeply and may also increase the likelihood that your upper airway will collapse. If you can’t refrain altogether from alcohol, make sure that you don’t drink for at least 3 hours before bedtime.

Anyone who suffers from sleep apnea should avoid using sleeping pills. It can be tempting to try to use them to help you sleep better, but these pills can relax your throat muscles and make your sleep apnea worse. They also have a number of other side effects that can be unpleasant.

If you are afflicted with sleep apnea, then you need to give up smoking. Upper airways have a tendency to swell in smokers and increases the likelihood of sleep apnea. To give up smoking, try any cessation program. Nicotine replacements are also good choices. The first month is pretty tough for most people, but it gets better. Once you are past that point, your nicotine cravings lessen drastically.

Maintaining a regular sleep schedule can help anyone dealing with sleep apnea. Once you can get on a schedule and stick to it, you will notice that your symptoms will decrease as your body gets more sleep. Make a routine that works for your lifestyle, and do your best to stick to it.

Keep a generator at home. If there is a power outage, your CPAP machine will stop functioning. Some CPAP machines have a battery that will kick in if the power goes out but you should invest in a quality generator in case you have to remain without power for several hours.

Learn to recognize sleep apnea. If you snore a lot or choke and can’t breathe during the night, this is probably a sign of sleep apnea. Use a tape recorded if you sleep alone and listen to the tape to find out how much noise you make during the night.

Corrective oral devices help some sleep apnea cases. Sometimes the way a person’s face is shaped may be causing their air passage to be smaller. Corrective mouth guards can improve night-time air flow by holding your jaw and throat in the ideal alignment for unimpeded breathing.

You’ve taken a big step forward in treating your sleep apnea simply by using this article to educate yourself. This is a crucial step that many people overlook. With this help, you may get some better sleep finally, and feel happier at that.

Sleep Apnea: Sleep Easier Using These Tips was originally published on Spring