Do you find you're tired all day long, even after a full night's sleep? Do you find yourself falling asleep at work for no known reason? Does your spouse complain about your snoring all night long and how loud it is?
If this describes you, you may be suffering from sleep apnea. To get a proper diagnosis, see your doctor. If you find you're among the ranks of sleep apnea sufferers, you don't have to immediately bring home a CPAP machine. You have a number of things you can do to help reverse your apnea altogether. Check out the 6 ways you can treat your sleep apnea at home.
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1. Weight loss. For those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, WebMD says that getting your weight down to an ideal body weight and maintaining it might be all that is necessary to get rid of your apnea problems. Losing weight means self-discipline, dieting and exercise; but if that means quality sleep and avoiding machines, you might find you can develop the discipline needed.
2. Exercise. University Health News Daily (UHN) shares that regular, moderate exercise four days a week for 40 minutes at a stretch is also extremely important. Not only does exercise aid in losing weight, but it also helps with controlling sleep apnea. UHN points out that even if you don't lose any weight, sleep apnea sufferers show "dramatic improvement" just from exercising.
3. Vitamins C, E and D. What nutrients your body has to work with also appears to be a large factor, according to University Health News Daily. Increasing the amount of antioxidants available to your body seems to help reverse sleep apnea and its effects. Vitamins C and E are large antioxidant providers. You can get these vitamins through eating papaya, strawberries, bell peppers, citrus fruits, broccoli, and leafy, dark green vegetables. For vitamin E, look to sunflower seeds and almonds, spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens, bell peppers and asparagus. Vitamin D can be found in some seafood, such as salmon, herring, catfish, trout, and oysters; milk; and shiitake mushrooms.
4. Sleep position. Help Guide.org says that the best way to get rid of sleep apnea is to avoid sleeping on your back. You may need to get creative in how you keep from ending up on your back. Try using a wedge pillow that keeps you in an inclined position. You can make a pocket on the back of your pajamas and put tennis balls in the pocket so you won't be inclined to sleep on your back. Find what works for you.
5. Throat exercises. Since obstructive sleep apnea happens because the muscles in the neck and jaw relax too much allowing them to collapse, Help Guide.org says to do some throat exercise. You can blow up a balloon by breathing in through your nose and then expelling the air into the balloon. Try not to remove the balloon between breaths. Do this exercise five times a day. Another exercise you can try is gargling water in your throat for at least five minutes, twice a day.
6. Herbs. Losing weight can be quite difficult, so Dr. Axe recommends coupling your diet and exercise with some herbs that may help you see success or much more rapid success. If you suffer from things like thyroid which make losing weight more difficult, maca, ginseng and rhodiola can help with the process. He also recommends grapefruit, cinnamon and ginger oil to help control your appetite.
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The road to sleep apnea relief isn't necessarily immediate, but it may be possible. By losing weight and getting exercise, both aerobic and throat exercise, you can be on the path to a better night's sleep.