How to Naturally Treat Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea refers to an interruption in a person’s breathing while they are sleeping. It is usually caused when the tissue at the back of the throat closes, causing a person to stop breathing. This can happen many times a night. If left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to more serious issues, but there are several natural ways to treat it before turning to more drastic measures.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Change your sleeping position. Lying on your back tends to cause more problems than sleeping on your stomach or, ideally, on your side.

2. 

   Elevate your head while sleeping. This follows changing your sleeping position as a simple change you can make to naturally treat sleep apnea. They both make it much less likely that your air passages will close due to gravity.

3. 

   Eliminate bad habits. Drinking, smoking, and sleeping pills are known to be contributing factors to sleep apnea, and their elimination has been seen to be beneficial. They do so by relaxing the muscles and allowing them to settle and close.

4. 

   Lose weight. Sleep apnea, like most chronic conditions, responds well to weight loss if the person is overweight. Weight loss has been known to cure sleep apnea in some cases because of the physical changes that occur, which result in the airway no longer being physically blocked while lying down.

5. 

   Exercise regularly. Again, most chronic conditions respond well to the combination of weight loss and exercise, and sleep apnea is no exception. Regular exercise can not only help treat sleep apnea, but can also help improve sleep quality and improve health in general.

Tips & Warnings

• No matter the condition, it really is hard to go wrong with maintaining an ideal weight, exercising regularly, and eating right.
• Medications can be a major contributing factor, but discontinue prescriptions only with a doctor’s supervision.
• Decongestants may be helpful, but should only be taken for a limited amount of time.

[bar10dr98]

on 1/8/2009 Great to know you can treat sleep apnea naturally!

[Cherst1031]

on 1/8/2009 Good points, sleep apnea is serious and taking steps like losing weight and elevating the head of the bed, can be a big help.

[StarrySkye]

on 1/7/2009 my husband has this...thanks for the advice!

[Sidhartha]

on 1/7/2009 simple and easy to follow ideas thanks.

[cynvela]

on 1/7/2009 Great tips! My husband has sleep apnea.