What can I do to manage my sleep apnea?

Losing weight if you are overweight helps relieve the pressure on your airway that contributes to your nighttime breathing pauses if you have sleep apnea.

Changing your sleeping position by using pillows or other props to keep you from lying on your back may help maintain an open airway.

Avoiding alcohol and any substance that slows your brain function, including central nervous system (CNS) depressants such as sedatives and muscle relaxants, also helps keep your airway clear.

Warning: Do not take sleep aids if you have or suspect you have sleep apnea. Sleep aids depress the central nervous system and can make pauses in breathing worse.

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Home treatment for obstructive sleep apnea includes lifestyle changes and changing some sleeping habits.

Lifestyle changes

• Lose weight. Some studies have shown that losing weight reduces the number of times an hour that you stop breathing (apnea) or that the airflow to your lungs is reduced (hypopnea). Experts agree that weight loss should be part of managing sleep apnea. If you are overweight and have sleep apnea, nutritional counseling may help.
• Limit the use of alcohol and medicine. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or taking certain medicines, especially sleeping pills or sedatives, before sleep may make symptoms worse.
• Get plenty of sleep. Apnea episodes may be more frequent when you have not had enough sleep.
• Quit smoking. The nicotine in tobacco relaxes the muscles that keep the airways open. If you don't smoke, those muscles are less likely to collapse at night and narrow the airways.
• Promptly treat breathing problems, such as a stuffy nose caused by a cold or allergies.

Sleeping habit changes

• Sleep on your side. Try this: Sew a pocket in the middle of the back of your pajama top, put a tennis ball into the pocket and stitch it shut. This will help keep you from sleeping on your back. Sleeping on your side may eliminate mild sleep apnea.
• Raise the head of your bed 4 in. (10 cm) to 6 in. (15 cm) by putting bricks under the legs of the bed. You can also use a special pillow (called a cervical pillow) when you sleep. A cervical pillow can help your head stay in a position that reduces sleep apnea. Using regular pillows to raise your head and upper body won't work.
• Use your CPAP machine every night. If you are using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help you breathe, use it every night. If you don't use it all night, every night, your symptoms will return right away.

Some people use nasal strips, which widen the nostrils and improve airflow. Although these strips may decrease snoring, they cannot treat sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is generally caused by the obstruction of breathing passages while in a deep sleep. Managing this problem consists of methods to make this airway obstruction less likely. Weight loss for overweight or obese patients is critical and often very effective.

A common medical therapy for sleep apnea is the use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine during sleep. CPAP is a very effective treatment for sleep apnea, but some patients find that using the machine is difficult, while other patients are able to use a CPAP machine with no problems. 

Some patients with very large tonsils or a very large palate (roof of the mouth) may even benefit from a type of surgery to make the airway larger.