Sleep Apnea Remedies
What are the most effective sleep apnea remedies?
Sleep apnea is a medical condition more commonly found amongst men that is categorized by pauses in breathing or shallow breathing while one is asleep. The pauses in breathing that occur last anything from 10 seconds going up to a couple of minutes and can take place from five times to almost thirty times in any given hour while one sleeps. Though this condition is categorized by heavy snoring there are a number of other symptoms too, that signal this disorder. However, this disorder can be cured and there are a number of sleep apnea remedies that one can administer to get relief.
Causes
In order to get sleep apnea remedies it is very important to understand the causes that lead to sleep apnea. Though studies show that sleep apnea can be hereditary, it might not be so in all cases. However, some of the most prominent reasons for sleep apnea are as follows:
• Blocked nasal passages because of congestion or cold
• Deviated nasal septum
• Abnormally relaxed tongue and throat muscles
• Being overweight or obese
• Having larger than normal tonsils or adenoids
• Age
• Excessive use of stimulants, caffeine and recreational drugs.
Until a few years back, it was unclear if the use of recreational drugs led to sleep apnea. But recent studies have been conclusive in their reports in associating sleep apnea with the use of ecstasy, a recreational drug commonly called a Club Drug.
Symptoms
Along with identifying the causes of sleep apnea, before one looks for sleep apnea remedies it is also important to know of the symptoms that signal this condition as they take place when one is sleeping. One of the symptoms of sleep apnea is loud snoring accompanied with pauses in breathing. A person who has sleep apnea will also tend to wake up with a gasp all of a sudden in the night because of the lack of air. Some of the other symptoms that indicate sleep apnea can be listed as follows:
• Chronic headaches in the morning.
• A feeling of constant tiredness accompanied by feeling inactive and sleepy.
• Concentration and memory problems.
• Irritability and extreme mood swings that often follow a bout of depression.
• Aggravated depression for those already diagnosed with depression.
• Urgency to urinate in the night.
• Feeling thirsty or parched on waking up.
Remedies
There are a number of remedies available for curing sleep apnea. Along with the treatment that your doctor or sleep specialist provides you there are a number of sleep apnea remedies that you can do individually to help you get better.
Lifestyle changes play a big role as one of the main sleep apnea remedies. These lifestyle changes include:
• Losing excess weight.
• Abstaining from using stimulants such as caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs as they do not allow your throat to remain open while sleeping.
• Sleeping on your side with your head elevated.
• Trying to keep nasal passages open while sleeping with the help of aspirators and saline sprays.
Along with this, your doctor could also recommend the use of a mouthpiece to ease the condition or use the help of breathing devices, such as the CPAP to ensure that air gets blown into your throat gently and continuously.
