3 Best Tips for Managing Your Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a serious disorder where you stop and start breathing repeatedly as you sleep. Your age, gender, weight, and lifestyle can all increase your risk for sleep apnea. After your diagnosis, you’ll have to make lifestyle changes, such as sleeping with a breathing assistance device. Keep reading to learn the three best tips for managing your sleep apnea and how to make effective lifestyle changes.
Losing Weight
Obesity is one of the risk factors for sleep apnea, and after your doctor diagnoses you with sleep apnea, they will probably recommend weight loss. Losing weight can help make your sleep apnea less severe and, in certain cases, eliminate it entirely.
There are several ways you can go about your weight loss journey. You can start naturally with diet and exercise changes, or you can pursue weight loss surgery. Most doctors won’t recommend surgery until after a three-month trial with other non-invasive treatment options, so it’s best to start naturally. One form of exercise you should prioritize during a natural weight loss journey is yoga since it helps respiratory strength and encourages oxygen flow.
Cutting Unhealthy Habits
Alcohol and smoking can make you susceptible to sleep apnea and can worsen it. Alcohol relaxes your throat muscles, making it more likely for you to snore and develop inflamed airways while you sleep. This inflammation can block airflow, causing sleep apnea. Smoking causes similar airway inflammation.
Cutting down on your alcohol consumption and quitting smoking can reduce airway inflammation and help you better manage your sleep apnea. Limit your alcohol consumption to only the occasional drink, and take your last drink at least two hours before you go to sleep, ideally earlier. Quitting smoking is best for you and your lifestyle.
Using a Breathing Assistance Device
The most common way to manage moderate to severe sleep apnea is by sleeping with a breathing assistance device. Most people use continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, which pushes air pressure through a mask you wear while you sleep, keeping your upper airway open for easier breathing. Other people use bilevel positive airway pressure, which automatically adjusts the air pressure as you sleep, increasing pressure when you inhale and decreasing it when you exhale.
If you use supplemental oxygen and have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea, don’t worry about using it with another breathing assistance device. Oxygen concentrators work with CPAPs and BIPAPs quite easily, so you’ll be able to breathe easily through the night.
Losing weight, cutting unhealthy habits, and using a breathing assistance device are the three best tips for managing your sleep apnea. While these lifestyle changes can be difficult to make, they’re necessary to take care of your health now that you’ve received a sleep apnea diagnosis.
Authored by admin @ Inspire Your Journey
