Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder than can affect as many as five percent as adults, but often goes unrecognized. If you suffer from this condition, you will stop breathing for up to a minute while you sleep. This can cause snoring, fatigue, and other problems. Fortunately, there are effective treatments to help you find relief. Avoid contact with cigarette smoke and consumption of alcohol if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. As with many other health problems, alcohol and tobacco will worsen sleep apnea. Your respiratory system will not be happy with you if you drink all the time. Smoking adds harmful chemicals which damage your lungs over time. Drop as many bad habits as you can as early as possible. Do not drink alcohol often. Alcohol relaxes your muscles in a way that harms your breathing. While this is often considered a desirable effect, it can lead to sleep apnea. Alcohol causes the throat and tongue muscles to relax, which can make it easier for them to block your airway. Try your best to limit your drinking if you do decide to have alcohol, and try to not have any right before bed. Sleep Apnea patients using a CPAP machine may find that a humidifier is their best friend. The continuous passage of air from the machine can dry out sensitive nasal membranes, creating discomfort. A room humidifier, placed near the machine, often provides the humidification needed for comfortable sleep. If that isn't sufficient, machines with integrated humidification chambers are available and allow the patient to customize the amount of moisture they receive. Everyone who snores does not have sleep apnea. Conversely, everyone who has sleep apnea does not necessarily snore either. How do you know the difference? The biggest signs are how you feel during the course of a normal day. Snoring does not interfere with the sleep quality the same way that sleep apnea does. With snoring you are less likely to suffer from fatigue during the day. Try out a regular sleep schedule to help you through your sleep apnea. Random sleep times affects your sleep as it is and this is compounded when you have sleep apnea. Whatever you are able to do to keep a regular sleep pattern will help you to be in better health and less exhausted during the day. The adjustment that is most important is your sleep schedule. If when using a CPAP machine your mouth still falls open, use a chin strap. It's simply fabric that keeps your chin up and mouth closed. CPAP can't work with an open mouth, so try using this device to fix the issue. People who use alcohol, sedatives, and sleeping pills are far more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. This is because these drugs will relax the throat and cause their breathing to be impaired. Using these drugs before bedtime is more likely to cause sleep apnea than using these drugs during the day. Sleep with just one pillow at night. Your sleeping position can be affected negatively by multiple pillows or an over-sized one. Sleeping in this way may prevent easy breathing. So, you should stick to one pillow to help lessen any sleep apnea symptoms. 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. If you use a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP machine to treat your sleep apnea, sleep with it every night. When you take the mask off at night, your symptoms will return. Sometimes they might disappear for one or two nights, but then return. Wearing the mask every night prevents episodes of sleep apnea from occurring. If you are concerned that you may suffer from sleep apnea, it is important to be diagnosed right away. This way, you can start getting the treatment you need as quickly as possible. The advice you have read in this article can help you find the relief you need from this troublesome condition.
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