Top 5 Tips for Improving Sleep Quality and Reducing Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Sleep is a valuable component of your overall health and well-being. Poor sleep can affect various aspects of your body, including the immune, cardiovascular, and nervous systems, potentially ruining your overall quality of life.
Unfortunately, getting quality, restful sleep can be challenging for some people due to conditions like sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep-breathing disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and begins during sleep.
These breathing interruptions happen within a few seconds but can happen repeatedly several times an hour throughout the night, greatly affecting your sleep. If left untreated, chronic sleep apnea can cause lead to complications like cardiovascular diseases, daytime drowsiness, and mental problems.
That said, treating and managing sleep apnea is crucial to reduce your symptoms and improve your sleep quality for overall well-being. This article will discuss five major tips for managing sleep apnea and improving sleep quality.
Understanding the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Since sleep apnea happens while asleep, many people who have it don’t know it. Knowing sleep apnea symptoms can help you know when to seek help for you or your loved ones. Common signs and symptoms to watch out for include:
- Loud snoring
- Gasping for air while sleeping
- Breathing stops while sleeping, often reported by another person
- Morning headaches
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Awakening with a dry mouth
- Waking up with a sore throat
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Difficulty falling and staying sleep
- Daytime fatigue or tiredness
- Irritability and depression
If you have these symptoms, visit a dental office near you for sleep apnea treatment in Longmont.
Top 5 Tips for Improving Sleep Quality and Reducing Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Below are effective strategies for managing sleep apnea:
- Exercise and healthy weight
Excessive body weight or obesity is a key risk factor for sleep apnea. Gain weight can contribute to fatty deposits around the tongue and neck, which can contribute to airway obstruction, causing sleep apnea. If you’re overweight, losing weight can decrease the severity of obstructive sleep apnea by 50%. It allows for easier breathing during sleep, preventing sleep apnea and allowing you to have restful sleep.
Regular exercises and a proper diet are beneficial for losing weight and managing sleep apnea. Exercise can also promote overall blood circulation, improving your overall health and quality of sleep.
- Establish a regular schedule.
Irregular sleep habits can lead to poor sleep quality and exacerbate sleep apnea symptoms. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, like sleeping and waking up at the same time every day, help regulate your body’s internal clock, improving your sleep and sleep apnea condition.
- Consider sleep position.
Certain sleep positions can improve or exacerbate sleep apnea. For instance, sleeping on the back, also known as a supine position, can increase the likelihood of the soft tissues at the back of the throat relaxing excessively during sleep, blocking the airway.
However, sleeping on the side reduces the likelihood of the throat muscles falling back, keeping the airway open. It reduces the symptoms of sleep apnea and improves your sleeping. You can also include soft pillows to keep your head slightly elevated to keep your airway open and provide quality sleep.
- Oral appliances
Mild to moderate sleep apnea can be managed with oral appliances. These appliance helps position your jaw and tongue, keeping your airway open throughout the night. Common oral appliances include tongue stabilizing, mouth guards, and mandibular advancement devices. While you can get cheaper devices online or in a nearby store, a custom appliance from your dentist offers more comfort and can effectively help manage sleep apnea.
- CPAP therapy
The dentist or doctor can recommend a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine for moderate to severe sleep apnea. The CPAP machine continually delivers air pressure through a mask over the nose or/and mouth. The air pressure is higher than the surrounding air, keeping your airway open throughout the night. It helps prevent sleep apnea and snoring and improves the quality of your sleep.
Are you interested in Sleep Apnea Treatment?
Do you suspect you or your loved ones have sleep apnea? Prompt treatment is vital to manage your symptoms and improve the quality of your sleep. For more information about sleep apnea and possible treatments, contact Mertz Family Dentistry to book your consultation with our dentist in Longmont.