5 Habits to Improve Sleep Apnea

I’m Eddie the Yeti and I have sleep apnea. Over time, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to help improve the symptoms of sleep apnea. So, if you’re looking to have a better sleep and in turn, a better day, then keep reading for my top 5 habits you should implement if you have sleep apnea:

Exercise

Exercise

Exercise not only plays a role in an individual’s general health but it can also help you to have a better sleep? Exercise helps to make individuals more aware of their lung capacity and breathing. Improving your breathing while you are awake helps you to create good habits that are translated to good breathing habits while sleeping.

Stop Smoking Cigarettes

Stop smoking cigarettes

We all know that smoking is bad for us but do we know the impact that it is really having on our sleep. Nicotine is highly addictive and destructive. Upon sleep onset, in the first hour of sleep, nicotine acts as a stimulant, reducing the number of apneas and hypopneas during sleep.  However, as nicotine withdrawal continues throughout the night, sleep apnea increases, possibly due to the “rebound effect” of nicotine withdrawal. Smoking causes upper airway inflammation. This inflammation causes the nose, uvula and throat to swell, which reduces the space in the airway.

Avoid Alcohol

Avoid alcohol

While some say it can be healthy to have one glass a wine a week, if you have Sleep Apnea, drinking alcohol can often do more harm than good. Drinking alcohol can have the most impact especially when you drink moderate to high amounts prior to sleep. This can cause a narrowing of the air passage, causing episodes of apnea in persons who normally do not exhibit Sleep Apnea symptoms. So imagine what drinking alcohol can do to you if you suffer from Sleep Apnea.

Sleeping

Sleep on your side or stomach

Sleeping on your back can cause your tongue and soft palate to rest against the back of your throat and block your airway. Here is a Sleep Yeti trick to help prevent you from sleeping on your back: try a Sleep Positioning Noodle  that ensures you stay sleeping on your side.

 No Sleeping Pills

Don’t take sleeping pills

Often when you have Sleep Apnea you can feel tired during the day and may want to take a sleeping pill to get a better sleep. Turns out, this is not good for your Sleep Apnea because the pills relax the muscles in the back of your throat, interfering with breathing. Since a sleeping pill puts you into a deeper state of sleep, an episode of sleep apnea often lasts longer because more respiratory compromise is needed to wake the brain up to restore normal breathing. So even though you may be tempted to take a sleeping pill to improve your sleep, resist the temptation!

Test out these 5 tips to see if they improve your sleep!

Sleep well - Sleep Yeti

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Source: Mayo Clinic