Do you or anyone known to you, often experience breathing or snoring problems while sleeping? Well, it can be the condition called Sleep Apnea.
Sleep Apnea causes you to stop breathing for a shorter or even longer span while sleeping resulting in a gasp or waking up suddenly. In many cases, people are unaware of this disorder and the time they are dealing with it.
According to the stats of the National Sleep Foundation, around 18 Million adults in the United States are suffering from sleep apnea.
Of course, the medical world has numerous treatments including breathing devices, medications and surgery to help you get rid of sleep apnea but it can also be treated well by some easy lifestyle changes that we will discuss in this article.
What’s Sleep Apnea?
Sleep Apnea is a medical condition where people experience difficulty breathing or a pause of breath for a few seconds while sleeping. This impacts your sleep after long hours daily and leaves you restless for the next few days. This happens by the blockage in your airways or narrow breathing passage. If not treated at the right stage, it may get severe, welcoming other physical and mental disorders. Some of the basic symptoms in people suffering from sleep apnea are as follows-
- Gasping for air while sleeping
- Dry mouth
- Snoring
- Headache
- Difficulty sleeping
- Tiredness
- Memory loss
- Irritability
There are two kinds of sleep apnea people usually suffer: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA). The former causes the upper airways partially or completely blocked whereas the latter relates to brain functions, falling into the severe category.
Health Complications with Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea brings multiple health complications that worsen your physical as well as mental health. If the condition of sleep apnea triggers, it causes the following conditions,
- Triggers mental health issues
- This leads to poor immunity
- Increases the risk of heart diseases
- Frequent nausea and memory loss
Treatment of sleep apnea follows courses of medication, therapies, and in severe cases; surgeries. But the impact and the eventual effect of sleep apnea can be reduced by certain smart remedies which can be practised by yourself.
Reasons Behind Sleep Apnea
- Ageing
- Genetically inherited
- Large overbite, tongue, tonsils, or uvula
- Heavy Alcoholic consumption
- Small Jaw
- Overweight
- Smoking
- Wrong Lifestyle
- Stress or Anxiety
Top 5 Home Remedies For Sleep Apnea
Yoga can specifically strengthen your lungs and increase the oxygen level in the body. This reduces breathing problems while you sleep. Besides this, meditation relaxes your body and keeps the mind hustle-free. Hence, regular yoga along with some light exercise is recommended by health experts to treat sleep apnea.
- Maintain a Healthy Weight
Medical practitioners and experts often suggest people suffering from sleep apnea reduce weight if they are overweight, especially for the upper body as excess weight causes the airways to block, narrowing nasal passages. By maintaining a healthy weight, you can breathe lightly and reduce the chances of getting sleep apnea attacks.
Alcohol relaxes your throat muscles which control your breathing. This way, excessive alcohol intake may disrupt your breathing cycle resulting in higher chances of sleep apnea attacks. Similarly, tobacco consumption results in inflammation and swelling in your airways. Hence, try to limit your alcohol as well as tobacco intake or quit it to treat your sleep apnea in a better way.
- Alter Your Sleep Position
According to research, people who sleep in the supine position (on the back) and are suffering from sleep apnea; experience more difficulty breathing whereas, sleeping on any of your sides can help you breathe better, reducing the chances of apnea attacks at night. Therefore, try to change your sleep position if you sleep on your back and rely on your side.
Today’s healthy habits will form your healthier tomorrow. To get rid of any disorder be it physical or mental, the first step is to fix your lifestyle. The sleep cycle must be practiced strictly along with taking healthy meals required to fill you with energy and strength. Besides this, an organised life helps you seek better-thought processes while doing any work and by this, you reduce your stress. This eventually gives you better sleep to avoid apnea attacks.
Bottom Line
Sleep Apnea is a disorder people usually do not consider and avoid visiting the doctor. But, that can worsen the situation. Hence, it is highly recommended to observe your breathing cycle and if you experience any difficulty breathing while sleeping, go for medical treatment along with
practising the habits we discussed above. You can also use humidifiers while sleeping, the lavender fragrance scents in your bedroom for better breathing, nourish your throat with raw honey and practice good throat exercises to seek faster results. Until then, Stay Healthy, Be Wealthy!
