Sleep Apnea remedies-Sleep Apnea Exercises

Sleep Apnea Exercises

Singing Exercises for Sleep Apnea:

Different sounds and tunes to focus movement in the soft palate, palatopharyngeal arch, tongue and nasopharynx-

These exercises cannot work for everyone. The action of the exercises is to tone lax muscles in the upper throat. They can only help when lax muscles are a significant factor.

Yawning also uses similar muscles. Try yawning repeatedly for a few minutes to really stretch the muscles. You can do this one anywhere as it’s a silent exercise.

Working out your throat muscles is the same as working out any other muscle in your body. You need to do it regularly in order to see any results.

It won’t happen overnight but gradually over several months you will start to notice that you don’t snore as much as you once did.

Yoga Exercises for Sleep Apnea:

Yoga is appropriate for all ages and can greatly reduce stress and improve the quality of sleep. There are breathing and relaxation techniques that will relieve your sleep apnea.

The special type of yoga that promotes sleep is called Yoga Nidra, which in Sanskrit means Sleep. Yoga uses breathing and visualization techniques to help you relax, and it is recommended you do the exercises every night before sleep.


Jaw Exercise for Sleep Apnea:

Close your mouth and act like you are chewing gum. Chew like this for a minute or so at a time. To do the exercise right make sure your molars on both sides move apart a little, and then touch lightly again. Also notice that your lips are supposed to be closed the whole time.

This exercise is pretty easy on your jaw because you are not actually chewing anything, but you might still feel a little bit sore in the beginning. Just take it easy-maybe chew for only a few seconds in the beginning and then increase the time you exercise.

You can make an "mmm" sound as you chew. This will open the throat better. Making an "mmm" sound is not necessary, it will just give the exercise extra boost

Oropharyngeal Exercises:

If the problem in sleep apnea is the tissues relaxing and collapsing onto each other, you probably wonder if there is any oropharyngeal exercises to strengthen and tone these muscles.

A Brazilian study shows that doing certain tongue and facial exercises for 30 minutes daily may ease the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. Those exercises for sleep apnea included:

• Brushing the tongue with a toothbrush

• Putting the tip of the tongue on the soft palate and sliding the tongue backward

• Pronouncing vowels quickly or continuously

• Keeping the tongue in a certain position when eating

• And other methods

This study included thirty-one adults with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. The results of the study was interesting: after three months of oropharyngeal exercises, the patients had reduced their obstructive sleep apnea severity by thirty-nine percent. They also reported that they were snoring less, sleeping better, and less sleepiness during daytime.

Larger studies are needed to confirm the results and to learn which oropharyngeal exercises were most important, but the basic idea is to strengthen the muscles around the airway so it's less likely to collapse during sleep.

Do you think Plants can Cure your Sleep Apnea?

Do you think plants can cure your Sleep Apnea?

Some people use certain herbs that may improve insomnia and sleep apnea disorders. If you want to treat with these herbs, you should consult with their health care provider or medicine practitioner before taking herbal remedies. This is especially important because some remedies such as Melatonin interact with herbals like valerian and prescribed medicines.

Valerian Plant:

Valerian is an herb that is used for its calming and sedating properties. Studies show that it is useful for insomnia and chronic sleep disorders. It may take a few weeks to get the optimal effect. Some studies have found benefits with Valerian when it is combined with hops and/or lemon balm. It is generally well tolerated, and does not cause next-day drowsiness when taken at bedtime.

Melatonin:

Melatonin is a natural hormone that is secreted from the brain’s pineal gland. The gland regulates a person’s biological clock, particularly day and night cycles. Melatonin is generally used as a jet lag remedy. It may also help establish sleep patterns for shift workers.

Kampo Extract:

In 2002, some Japanese Researchers reported on the case of a 44-year-old male who was successfully treated for OSA by taking a Kampo extract, or traditional Japanese herbal formulation.

Vervain:

Vervain is used to relieve anxiety and depression, a remedy for people who are overbearing or overactive mind, and can improve sleep apnea symptoms.

Ayurvedic Medicine:

Ayurvedic remedies for insomnia include scalp and soles massage with sesame, brahmi, or jatamamsi oils, a warm bath, or a nutmeg ghee paste applied to the forehead and around the eyes. Sleep apnea is treated by changing sleep positions, humidifying the air, and nasya (nosedrops) with warm brahmi ghee.

If you are using natural remedies, whether to treat sleep apnea or other conditions, you should always tell your doctor what you're taking, how much, and how often.

This warning is important because some herbal preparations, or other natural remedies for sleep apnea that might be safe for you can interact with prescription medications.

SLEEP APNEA TREATMENT-CPAP Pillow And WEIGHT LOSS

CPAP Pillow for CPAP users:

These pillows are designed to aid CPAP users to make them comfortable while sleeping. So, these pillows are not really alternatives to CPAP treatment, but it helps you in sleeping better with your CPAP mask.

This pillow is specially designed to allow the mask and nose to stay in place, while avoiding pressure points on the face and leaks in the mask while sleeping. Many pillows have soft polyester fill with a special cotton cover (removable for washing).

Benefits of CPAP pillow:

 

• Enhance your sleeping experience
• Provides unsurpassed comfort
• Provides increased freedom of the patient's movement during the night   
• Supports the neck and keeps the spine aligned
• Reduces leaks from the mask
• Decreases pressure of the CPAP mask against the face

Disadvantages of CPAP pillow:

• The pillow can be bulbous and hard
• Discomfort
• It can leave little real pillow to rest a head on
• According to some company's return policy, hygiene law prohibit them accepting returns or giving refunds on pillow

Sleep Apnea Weight Loss:

Sleep apnea weight loss should be recommended to all obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Decreasing body weight is a logical target to reduce OSA burden but also to improve a range of health outcomes and quality of life.

As obesity is the most important risk factor for apnea episodes, sleep apnea weight loss would be expected to lead to an increase in upper airway dimensions and an improvement in sleep breathing disorder.

It has been shown that loss of weight can lead to an improved sleep efficiency, decreased snoring and improved oxygenation of the blood.

In cases of dramatic weight loss by extreme dieting or surgery, OSA severity is improved and in some patients abolished.

The benefit of Sleep Apnea Weight Loss is that if your disorder is due to obesity, then weight loss is your lifesaver. 

Dietary weight loss remains challenging; therefore, achieving and maintaining a target body weight is difficult.

I think you know very well that substantial weight loss by non-surgical means is both difficult to achieve and even harder to sustain. Therefore, it is an effective but difficult long-term therapeutic strategy.

The treatment for sleep apnea through weight loss is not for lazy people.  You should be very motivated, not only to start this program, but to continue and make a habit of it.

If you add the fact that you are overweight, have fear for surgery, and you can't sleep with a CPAP machine...then I think you are very motivated to try a sleep apnea weight loss.

Overview of OSA

Types of Sleep Apnea-Obstructive Sleep Apnea-OSA

Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

OSA occurs when air is physically blocked from entering the lungs during sleeping. When we are sleeping all our body parts relaxes and rest so the muscles of the upper respiratory tract (nose, mouth, pharynx and larynx) also relaxes but if they relaxed too much they collapses the air way. People with OSA have an airway that is more narrow than normal, usually at the base of the tongue and palate. When lying flat, the palate is above the air passage. When the pharyngeal muscles (muscles of the pharynx or throat)

A person who has obesity and is overweight is more likely to have this disorder. In male prevalence of OSA is three times higher women. The reasons are related to hormonal influence. Gender differences in the prevalence of OSA may also be related to body fat distribution. Men exhibit a more central fat distribution, including the neck, thereby increasing the risk for narrowing and closure of the upper airway. Postmenopausal women are at higher risk for obstructive apnea. This disorder is more common in African-Americans and Hispanics.

Numerous studies have shown correlations between the prevalence of OSA syndrome and obesity. Men and women with large neck sizes: 17 inches or more for men and 16 inches or more for women.

Although obesity is the most common cause of OSA, it also occurs in non-obese patients. 

Causes of OSA:

• Narrowing of the hard palate
• Nasal abnormalities including septal deviation and allergic rhinitis.
• Children with large tonsils and adenoids.
• People with Down Syndrome.
• Increasing age - when you become older, there is an increased risk to get a sleep disorder.
• Having this disorder genetically.

Evidence is accumulating that genetic factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of apnea disorder. The risk factors arise from changes to upper airway structure alteration in craniofacial structures.

Enlargement of important upper airway structures (tongue, soft palate, and lateral pharyngeal walls). Drugs, such as narcotics, benzodiazepines and alcohol.

Macroglossia associated with hypothyroidism contributes to the higher frequency of sleep disordered breathing.

Sleep apnea syndrome is more common and often severe in acromegalic patients (a chronic disease marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw) presumably related to a large tongue narrowing the upper airway.

Smoking - decrease the amount of oxygen in your blood and with alcohol reduces the upper airway tone relax the palate can fall backwards and this can obstruct the airway risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea.