Sleep Apnea Cures - If Not Cures They Help

Sleep apnea cures come in the form of lifestyle changes. Quitting smoking, if you smoke, and losing weight to decrease obesity can be enough of a change to eliminate sleep apnea and allow you to sleep better at night. If, on the other hand, these measures are not enough there are treatment options available to reduce the life-threatening effects you are susceptible to.

If you have obstructive sleep apnea, the most common form of treatment is a CPAP machine. CPAP stand for continuous positive airway pressure and you must wear a mask that fits snugly over your nose and/or mouth attached to a machine that blows air continuously into your nose and/or mouth when you are sleeping so your airway stays open and you do not suffocate in your sleep.

That does not happen often. What usually happens is the oxygen levels of your blood drop at least 4% and then your brain signals you to wake up so you can resume breathing. This can happen as much as thirty times per hour for as long as you are asleep. Do the math, if you will. If you are asleep for eight hours and you stop breathing 30 times every hour, you stop breathing 240 times per night. If each stoppage lasts one minute and your brain wakes you up each time, you miss out on four hours of sleep every single night of the week for weeks or months on end.

If you only have a mild form of sleep apnea you could probably get away with wearing an oral device as one more sleep apnea cures to keep your tongue from falling back and blocking your airway. These devices either hold your tongue down or change the way you hold your mouth when you are sleeping to give you more room behind your tongue, keeping your airway open that way.

You may be encouraged by your doctor to teach yourself to sleep on your side instead of rolling on to your back. A good idea is to sleep with a rolled up blanket or towel behind your back to "remind" you when you are sleeping to stay on your side.

If you have a moderate to severe case, surgery may be necessary to remove the obstruction. Obstructions can include a deviated septum in the nasal passages or tonsils and adenoids in the throat and sinuses. Removing the tonsils and adenoids will allow for more room in the airway and make a collapse of the airway less likely.

Central sleep apnea or complex, or mixed, sleep apnea is the most dangerous kind of apnea. This is the type where your brain fails to signal the muscles that control your breathing to initiate a breath on a consistent basis throughout the night.

In the most severe cases as in central sleep apnea or complex, or mixed, sleep apnea, a tracheostomy with placement of a trach tube in the throat or below the obstructed area may be necessary as sleep apnea cures go.