A good night’s sleep is critical to a healthy lifestyle. It helps you feel refreshed, alert, and eager to start the day when you awake. However, if you have sleep apnea, sleeping soundly throughout the night can be very challenging.
Sleep apnea is a common condition that affects more than 22 million people in this country and more than 100 million people around the world. It happens when your airway becomes obstructed during sleep. This prevents you from breathing normally. Your body responds by forcing you to wake up to restart the breathing process. This can occur hundreds of times throughout the night, completely disrupting your sleep cycle.
The result: people with sleep apnea often wake up feeling sleepy and continue to feel that way throughout the day. It’s hard to be your best when you don’t feel your best.
It’s important to treat sleep apnea. If untreated, it increases your risk for a variety of other serious health issues:
The good news: there are very effective sleep apnea treatments. They fall into 3 main categories.
There are a variety of relatively simple things you can do to help treat your sleep apnea.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Obesity, especially in the upper body, can increase the risk of airway obstruction and can cause sleep apnea. Even a modest weight reduction helps keep airways clear and reduce sleep apnea symptoms.
Change Your Sleep Position
Altering your sleep position can reduce sleep apnea symptoms and improve your night’s rest. Studies have found that more than half of sleep apnea cases are caused by your sleep position. Sleeping on your back (called the supine position) can worsen symptoms. For some people, sleeping on the side encourages normal breathing. Discuss body positioning and your sleep apnea symptoms with your doctor to evaluate your options for treatment.
Avoid Alcohol and Smoking
If you smoke, talk with your doctor about quitting. Tobacco use contributes to the inflammation and swelling of your airways, which may result in the airflow being blocked. If you drink, limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles that control your breathing. This can cause snoring and interrupt your sleep cycle.
Watch What You Eat and Drink
The foods you eat affect the quality and duration of sleep. It’s important to think about what you eat before going to bed. Falling asleep, and more importantly staying asleep, can be difficult if you are feeling uncomfortably full after a large meal.
Avoid the following before bedtime:
Exercise can increase your energy level, strengthen your heart, and improve your sleep by helping you relax when you go to bed. Talk with your doctor about the best exercise program for you.
Adopting daytime and nighttime routines can help improve your sleep. For instance, a dark, quiet bedroom and comfy mattress and pillow will help you drift off to sleep. Before you go to bed, try to limit the use of technology, and silence notifications on your phone. Stick to your schedule; go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. And try to relax. Reading a book or meditating can help make you feel sleepy.
Below are some helpful tips to help decrease congestion while you sleep:
In addition to making changes to your lifestyle, your healthcare provider may decide to try one of the many products designed to help treat sleep apnea. Below is some information about some of the more popular options:
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
CPAP is considered the “gold standard” for treating sleep apnea. There are more than 8 million CPAP users in the US. CPAP involves wearing a mask over your nose or mouth while you sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that delivers a constant flow of air to keep your airways open so you can breathe—and sleep—normally. Studies have shown that CPAP helps improve quality by improving:
Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP)
Some people benefit from an alternative to CPAP called BiPAP. Both require a face mask and tubing connected to a device that pumps air to help you breathe more normally. But BiPAP delivers pressurized air at two alternating levels: one level when you inhale, another when you exhale. BiPAP isn’t right for everyone, so be sure to talk with your doctor.
Sleep apnea is a serious—but treatable—medical condition. Work with your doctor to create a plan and identify the sleep apnea treatments that are right for you.