Sleep apnea may be characterized by loud snoring, but the disorder is far more than just an annoyance for a sleep partner. The condition, which causes you to temporarily stop intaking oxygen during sleep (activating a survival reflex that wakens you to resume breathing) has been linked to serious health issues, including increased risks for heart attacks and strokes, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Managing sleep apnea is essential—not just for better sleep quality but for overall health.
"Symptoms such as loud snoring accompanied by pauses in breathing, choking, or gasping during sleep, suggest sleep apnea and should be evaluated," says Dung Trinh, M.D., internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA. Daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, and repeatedly falling asleep unintentionally are also possible signs of sleep apnea, Dr. Trinh adds. "Fortunately, treatment can be effective for helping to manage the condition and lower major health risks as a result."
Alongside a medical treatment plan, your doctor may talk with you about self-care, which can support better breathing and sleep quality, making sleep apnea treatment more effective.
In This Article:
How to Improve Sleep With Sleep Apnea
Improving sleep when you have sleep apnea often requires several strategies, says Dr. Trinh. Your doctor has likely already prescribed you a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, the most commonly utilized first-line treatment for sleep apnea. To get the most out of your CPAP machine, you may also want to employ self-care strategies that improve your sleeping position and environment.
"Even with a CPAP, you'll likely have to make some changes to your sleeping environment and lifestyle habits, because those play such a big part in sleep quality," Dr. Trinh adds. Keeping track of the alterations you make and how well they work can assist you in refining your approach and adding new strategies along the way.
Best Sleep Position for Sleep Apnea
One of the first strategies to consider is simply changing your sleeping position, suggests Dr. Trinh. People with sleep apnea generally do best lying on their side rather than lying flat on their back. Side sleeping helps keep the airway more open by reducing the tendency of the tongue to relax back into the throat during sleep, which blocks airflow. Lying prone on your back can worsen sleep apnea because gravity makes airway collapse more likely.
If you start out sleeping on your side during the night but find that you tend to roll onto your back during your sleep, try positioning a body pillow behind you as you lay on your side to help prevent rolling.
Elevate Your Upper Body for Better Sleep
Not everyone is comfortable sleeping on their side, especially when using a CPAP machine. Another strategy is to elevate the upper body during sleep through the use of an adjustable bed or wedge pillow. An adjustable bed is preferable to stacking pillows under the head, which can cause the neck to tilt too far forward and may lead to neck muscle strain.
Elevating your upper body counteracts the effects of gravity to prevent your tongue from relaxing backward into your throat the way it would be if you were flat on your back. An incline also takes the weight of your chest off your diaphragm, leading to better airflow and easier breathing. There's less fluid accumulation in your throat as well with an incline, which is another way to keep airways clearer.
Research on incline sleeping and sleep apnea found that even a mild degree of head-of-bed elevation significantly helped reduce symptom severity and improved sleep quality.
Avoid Alcohol and Sedating Medications Before Bed
Alcohol and sedatives relax the airway muscles, which can worsen nighttime breathing. They also come with other concerns if used regularly, suggests Partha Nandi, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University and president and chief medical officer at Pinnacle GI Partners in Bingham Farms, MI.
"Many popular nighttime products contain sedating antihistamines such as diphenhydramine or doxylamine," Dr. Nandi says. "These may make you feel sleepy, but sedation isn't the same thing as healthy, restorative sleep. In older adults, these medications can cause what we call anticholinergic side effects, including confusion, dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, and difficulty urinating. They can also leave you groggy or unsteady when you get up during the night, which increases the risk of falls."
Some over-the-counter sleep products combine pain relief with sleep medication—you can recognize these since they include "PM" in the name, such as Tylenol PM—and these can be a concern as well, according to Dr. Nandi.
"You don't want to routinely take a medication you don't need simply because it's packaged as a nighttime product," he says. "If you're regularly reaching for an OTC sleep aid, that's a conversation to have with your physician or pharmacist rather than a habit to continue indefinitely."
Create a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom
Along with choosing an elevated bed to make a bedroom more sleep-friendly, other tweaks to your sleep environment can help ease you into slumber. These include:
- Make the room as dark as possible. Use blinds or curtains since darkness prompts the production of melatonin, the body's sleep hormone.
- Use a white noise machine or fan. These help to minimize outdoor sounds that may keep you awake.
- Keep the temperature cool. This helps the body's core temp drop at night, a signal to the brain that it's bedtime.
- Use moisture-wicking materials for sheets and pajamas. If you tend to get sweaty or hot at night, keep things dry with fabric that pulls sweat away from your body.
- Splurge on comfort. Choose soft pillows, sheets, and a good mattress.
Habits matter as well, says Dr. Trinh. For example, it's helpful to designate your bedroom as a place only for sleeping and intimacy, rather than a room where you watch TV, work on your laptop, or lounge.
Manage Your Weight
Excess weight and obesity are linked to complications such as sleep apnea and more severe sleep apnea symptoms, says Peminda Cabandugama, M.D., a specialist in obesity medicine and endocrinology at Cleveland Clinic in North Olmsted, OH. In fact, obesity is the single biggest risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea because excess fat around the neck and chest narrows the airway, which limits lung expansion and makes breathing pauses during sleep more likely, according to the Obesity Medicine Association.
The correlation between excess weight, sleep apnea, and a host of other health problems increases as you age. "With excess weight, there are significant direct and indirect effects on older adults," Dr. Cabandugama explains. "This ranges from increased cardiometabolic risks to problems with balance, frailty, and mobility. Increased weight also worsens osteoarthritis and puts more pressure on joints. This means that managing your weight and seeing even modest weight loss can be helpful not just with sleep apnea, but also with your health overall."
The Obesity Action Coalition notes that losing just 5% to 10% of your body weight can have meaningful benefits for your health.
If you're living with another chronic health condition, getting on top of symptoms is another important aspect of managing sleep apnea and improving sleep, adds Dr. Trinh. Conditions that are common in those with sleep apnea include hypertension, depression, type 2 diabetes, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Use Your CPAP More Consistently and Comfortably
Although self-care strategies are helpful when it comes to getting better sleep, these should complement a medical approach like use of a CPAP machine.
This medical device uses mild air pressure to keep your airways open while you sleep and subsequently prevents breathing pauses—leading to deeper and less interrupted sleep. The device can be frustrating to use at first due to discomfort, according to Mayo Clinic. Some tips for using your CPAP more consistently and increasing your comfort level include:
- Try different mask types if you feel claustrophobic with a full-face mask; for example, there are masks that deliver air only into the nostrils, so your mouth isn't covered.
- Wear the CPAP mask for short periods of time while you're awake as you're adjusting to using it to become more familiar with the sensation.
- Start with low air pressure (also called a "ramp" feature) that will increase as you sleep, which can help you be less bothered by the feeling of air blowing into your nose and mouth.
- Consider using a CPAP with a heated humidifier if you've been annoyed by a dry nose or congestion while using the device.
- If you experience skin irritation, try a petroleum-free skin moisturizer before putting on the CPAP, and use a mask liner.
- Regularly clean the machine's air filter, which is important for maintenance and also helps minimize noise from the CPAP.
As with any issue related to sleep apnea, discuss any problems with your health care team, suggests Dr. Trinh. These devices can be essential for helping you breathe well at night, so it's important to use them regularly rather than avoiding your CPAP due to discomfort.
When to Talk With Your Doctor
If you're experiencing common sleep apnea symptoms such as loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, suddenly waking up at night, and morning headaches, it's essential to check with your doctor to see if apnea may be occurring, says Dr. Trinh.
If you've already been diagnosed and you're still experiencing difficulties even with use of a CPAP machine, work with your doctor to find more strategies that can be helpful. Although a CPAP goes a long way toward alleviating sleep apnea, you may need to reevaluate your treatment plan if you're finding that you're regularly tired during the day or struggling to feel refreshed after a full night of sleep.
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