Sleep disorders are becoming increasingly common these days. Sleep apnea seems to affect many individuals who have often complained of breathlessness while sleeping or shortness of breath when they woke up. Those who suffer from sleep apnea fail to absorb adequate oxygen, which leads them to gasp and eventually wake up with a start.
People in most cases are completely unaware about these short spurts of breathing- not breathing and thereby consider their usual sleep cycle as a normal one. But sleep apnea akin to snoring is a foundation for giving rise to a plethora of health complications like poor immune function, risks of heart failure, memory loss, etc. Apart from modern technological inventions, there are few common treatments using home care and modifying one’s lifestyle to improve sleep.
Choose Yoga Above Everything Else
Incorporating regular exercises works wonders to fuel your energy, strengthen the heart, and even improve sleep. Yoga aims at bettering oxygen flow and respiratory power.
By introducing yoga, your oxygen levels improve with the help of breathing exercises. Once there is no oxygen saturation, the sleep interruptions will also reduce markedly.
Check Your Weight
Obesity, as we know, is a silent killer. And just in case you thought it rings havoc for heart patients majorly, doctors recommend staff members to lose weight. Obese people should exercise caution to see no airway obstruction and the narrower nasal passages.
These barriers create sudden breathing issues out of nowhere and for longer periods when sleeping. Hence, maintain a proper weight and assess for yourself if the airways are clear. Research has also proved that slight weight reduction in people battling obesity can do away with the need for upper airway surgery. And it would not need a complex and long-term CPAP therapy, too, if the weight loss works.
Take Resort To Humidifiers
Humidifiers add substantial moisture to the air. For those battling with sleep apnea, using humidifiers helps open the airways, de-blocks congestion, and finally allows much clearer breathing. Dry air causes significant troubles for the respiratory system to be specific and the body in general.
So if your humidifier is working fine, you can experiment with peppermint, lavender ore even eucalyptus oil to bringing benefits aplenty. While there’s no harm trying other oils, these three essential oils are famous for their anti-inflammatory effects. Before you get started with the humidifier, ensure you have done your research beforehand about the kind of purchase you must make. Additionally, read the manufacturer’s instructions when cleaning the product.
Invest In Oral Appliances
Not many might be aware of this, but an array of oral appliances available in the marketplace these days are capable of dealing with sleep apnea. There are two major categories- mandibular advancement devices and the other, tongue stabilizing devices. Both reposition the jaw or tongue so that the airways in your system are open while you sleep.
By pushing the tongue or lower jaw forward, these appliances reduce any obstruction present at the back of the throat. You can purchase such items from the low-cost varieties or OTC options or even try out the customized ones that dentists best fit. However, if you draw comparisons, the custom-fit appliances are far advanced than the over-the-counter options. The guideline released in 2015 points to the fact that custom-fit items help in fine-tuning the jaw positioning. And that ultimately results in improving one’s sleep quality.
Cut Back On Smoking And Alcohol Intake
There’s no alternative to this. Making slight lifestyle changes is always a healthy option in life, simply because it aids in better sleeping. In this respect, try and quit smoking and limit alcohol intake if you wish to see noticeable betterment in sleep apnea conditions.
Since alcohol relaxes the throat muscles at the time of breathing, it’s quite common to face snoring and eventually interrupted the sleep cycle. Similarly, tobacco also leads to swelling and inflammation in the airways that can deteriorate the snoring furthermore.
Home remedies and a few lifestyle changes can bring out significant positive results. However, this does not mean that we can rule out the success of traditional treatments or medications. So consult your doctor before following these alternative treatments. That way, you can be sure you pick the treatment that suits you best.