What Are The Solutions For Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing while you sleep. Treatments can include lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or changing sleep positions, medical devices like CPAP machines, or surgery. 

Maintain a healthy weight

People with sleep apnea are usually advised by doctors to lose weight. The risk of airway obstruction and narrow nasal passages may be increased by obesity, especially in the upper body. These obstructions can cause you to stop breathing while you sleep unexpectedly or for periods of time. The maintenance of a healthy weight will keep your airways open and reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea. Research shows that in individuals with obesity, moderate weight loss will reduce the need for upper airway surgery or long-term CPAP therapy. Weight loss can eliminate sleep apnea in some cases. However, it is common for the disorder to return if you regain weight.

Yoga

Your energy level can be enhanced by daily exercise, your heart strengthened and sleep apnea improved. Yoga will directly strengthen the respiratory strength and facilitate the flow of oxygen. Sleep apnea is associated with reduced saturation of oxygen in your blood. Via its numerous breathing exercises, Yoga will increase your oxygen levels. As a consequence, the amount of sleep interruptions you can encounter is minimized by yoga.

Alter your sleep position

Changing your sleep location, albeit a slight adjustment, will decrease the symptoms of sleep apnea and improve the rest of your night. A 2006 study found that more than half the cases of obstructive sleep apnea are position-dependent. Studies have shown that sleeping on your back will cause symptoms to worsen, called the supine position. Sleeping on your side will help your breathing return to normal for some adults. A 2002 study, however, showed that children with sleep apnea sleep on their backs better. To assess your options for treatment, explore body posture and your symptoms of sleep apnea with your doctor.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

You wear a mask over your nose and/or mouth when you sleep with continuous positive airway pressure — also called CPAP. The mask is hooked up to a pump that provides the nose with a steady supply of air. This airflow helps to hold the airways open so that you can breathe as you need to. The most popular treatment for sleep apnea is CPAP. Bi-level positive airway pressure, or BPAP, is close to CPAP. But as you are breathing in and out, the airflow changes.

Oral Appliances

Wearing an oral appliance designed to hold your throat open is another choice. CPAP is more consistently efficient than oral appliances, although it could be better to use oral appliances. By bringing your jaw forward, others are meant to open your mouth, which can also reduce snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. There are a range of devices from your dentist available. Before finding one that works for you, you might need to try various devices. Once you find the correct fit, within the first year and then periodically after that, you will need to follow up with your dentist repeatedly to ensure that the fit is still good and to reassess the signs and symptoms.

Surgery for Sleep Apnea

If you have a medical condition that makes your neck too narrow, you might need surgery. These symptoms include swollen tonsils, an overbite of a tiny lower jaw, or a deviated nasal septum (when the wall is off-center between the nostrils).

The most common types of surgery for sleep apnea include:

• Nasal surgery: This fixes nasal problems such as a deviated septum.

• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP): This takes out soft tissue from the back of your throat and palate, making your airway wider at the opening of your throat.

Mandibular maxillomandibular advancement surgery: This fixes certain facial problems or throat blockages that play a role in sleep apnea.