How to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP

Are you searching for ways on how to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP? One common sleep-related breathing disorder among people is obstructive sleep apnea. Bear in mind that if left untreated or treated in a poor way, sleep apnea can leave you feeling tired all day and suffering from daytime sleepiness, which affects your productivity. One cure for sleep apnea has been the use of the CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE device or CPAP mask.

However, this device causes discomfort to some patients. For instance, 25-50% of those who try it can’t tolerate it as a cure for sleep apnea, which means that they have to look for alternative ways. This post looks at 4 ways on how to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP. 

What Is Sleep Apnea?

  • Obstructive sleep apnea refers to when a person’s airway collapses or narrow, which causes the individual to stop breathing in repeated periods or briefly throughout the whole night. The result is a drop in the body’s oxygen amounts and disrupts the person’s sleep cycle.
  • People with sleep apnea in most cases snore loudly, and their partners may witness “apnea” episodes, which interrupts the snoring and results in a snort at the end. Bear in mind that sleep apnea affects 3-7 percent of the population.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The primary symptoms of sleep apnea include fatigue and low energy and experiencing daytime sleepiness. The body’s lack of oxygen and regular sleep disruptions at night are what cause issues such as the sleep apnea symptoms during the day. Your sleeping positions can have an impact on your sleep and can impact Sleep Apnea. Other symptoms include:

  • Sore or Dry Throat
  • Morning Headaches
  • Decrease In Short Term Memory
  • Decrease in Concentration
  • Difficulty in Making Decisions and Morning Confusion
  • Mood and Personality Changes
  • Decrease in Libido
  • Impotence
  • Falling Asleep As You Drive

The above symptoms, combined with lacking energy during the daytime, means that people with sleep apnea have a higher risk of decreased performances at school or work and being involved in motor vehicle accidents. 

Sleep Apnea Risks

  • According to studies, sleep apnea is closely linked with the risk of developing diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Sleep apnea also increases the risk of you having a stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, and high blood pressure.
  • Sleep apnea can lead to the increase of cognitive difficulties, GERD, the overall risk of death, and insulin resistance if left untreated. 

How to Diagnose Sleep Apnea

One overnight test, which is called polysomnography, is what your doctor or physician will carry out to determine whether you’ve obstructive sleep apnea. It involves the recording of your breathing and sleeping using the in-laboratory measurement of eye movements, chin movements, respiratory effort, brain waves, and arousals, electrocardiographic (ECG) tracings, airflow, body position, leg movements, and snoring. 

Is the CPAP device a Solution or a Problem?

  • One conventional and typical obstructive sleep apnea treatment option has been the (CPAP) device. It provides you with a constant flow of air through a mask that you wear during your sleep. The airflow ensures that your airways are open, which prevents you from pausing to restore your body’s oxygen levels and breathing.
  • At the beginning of this treatment, most patients report feeling better. However, some patients can’t keep using the CPAP device as their treatment option. The reason is that this device causes them to feel pressure since it creates a high flow of air in addition to having them experience nasal congestion. It means that the best way to deal with sleep apnea is to consider other options. Below we look at 4 options.

How to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP

If you experience the above sleep apnea symptoms, you should make sure that get the best treatment option by getting diagnosed. It will enable you to prevent severe health risks that sleep apnea causes. Below are 4 ways on how to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP.

1. Vitamin D

If you’re searching for one option to deal with sleep apnea without using CPAP device, you should consider increasing your body’s vitamin D levels. The reason is that studies have found that patients with sleep apnea have lower levels of vitamin D.

Sleep apnea patients who have issues with insulin and blood sugar regulation, for example, those with prediabetes, diabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome have deficiency in vitamin D. For instance, the lower the patient’s vitamin D levels, the more severe sleep apnea and blood sugar dysregulation symptoms will be.

It means that one way that sleep apnea patients can deal with insulin resistance is to consider vitamin D treatment, which will reduce inflammation and blood sugar disturbances.

The reason is that deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to symptoms of sleep apnea, which includes muscle pain and mood changes. Most patients report that they feel less tired when their vitamin D levels are increased to the required levels. 

2. DHA

Another option that you consider if you’ve sleep apnea symptoms is the supplement, Omega-3, for example, a fish oil that has been formulated to by using omega-3 fatty acid DHA in high concentrations.

That’s because low levels of omega-three, for instance, DHA levels, have been linked to developing serious sleep apnea. Omega-3 fats are one natural option for you if you have sleep apnea.

The reason is that they protect your body cells against stress since this condition causes oxidative stress (long-term) and puts significant demands on your body, which causes the depletion of omega-three levels.

By taking fish oil rich in Omega-3 with high concentration levels of DHA, you will improve your cardiovascular health and reduce sleep apnea symptoms. 

3. Exercise and Healthy Diet

Make sure that you consume healthy foods, check your weight and exercise regularly. Studies have shown that individuals with sleep apnea don’t require CPAP if they lose weight. They also experience a total cure for fatigue and sleep apnea.

Consider exercising four times a week by carrying out moderate aerobic exercises for about 40 minutes. You should then do some weight training two days a week. The result is that you’ll feel less tired and reduce the sleep apnea symptoms.

4. Take Anti-Oxidant Supplements

Another natural remedy is increasing your antioxidant capacity. That’s because sleep apnea is associated with oxidative stress, which is the buildup of free radicals. The best way is by taking antioxidant formula supplements that contain compounds such as carotenoids (for example, beta-carotene) and vitamin C and E. 

Summary

The above informative post on how to sleep with sleep apnea without CPAP should make it easier for you to deal with sleep apnea. Make sure that you consult your doctor or physician if you experience the above sleep apnea symptoms and consider the above 5 options if you find the CPAP device uncomfortable.