Home Treatment of Sleep Apnea

In some cases of sleep apnea, the treatment can only go so far as following your doctors' advice, ensuring you take your medication and utilising any equipment provided such as CPAP masks or oxygen administration.

In the case of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, depending upon the obstruction type, you may find some useful advice within this article which you can utilise.

•  Stop smoking: In addition to causing respiratory, heart and artery problems, smoking can also inflame a person's airways making it harder for air to be drawn through to the lungs.

•  Don't drink alcohol before sleep : Alcohol has a naturally relaxing quality to it which is why so many people have a tipple before turning in for a nights sleep. While this may work for some, in people prone to sleep apnea it may be one of the factors causing or worsening symptoms. Consuming alcohol will relax the muscles of the airways causing them to close more than during normal sleep making it harder to breathe.

•  Don't lay on your back: Lying on your back is the worst possible position for easy breathing. As you enter deep sleep and completely relax not only can the tongue relax and fall backwards partly obscuring the airways, but the other tissues of the throat will do the same. Saliva and mucus also tends to build up more in the throat whilst lying on the back. Lying on your side alleviates most of these problems.

•  Don't use a pillow or so many pillows: By using a pillow, you are bending your neck which can inhibit breathing. Using two or three pillows as many people do can jack the head up so high breathing is greatly inhibited. Particularly if a person is laid on their back thus forcing the chin towards the chest which is the least agreeable sleeping position of all.

•  Lose weight: By losing weight you decrease the bulk of fatty tissues within the airways, which allows the airways to open up more and allow more air through.