If you have sleep apnea, the last thing you want to do is make it worse. But many sleep apnea patients unknowingly follow habits or engage in behaviors that can do just that. So, here are things you should avoid to keep your sleep apnea from getting worse. For medical advice, consult a sleep clinic Silver Spring.

What To Avoid To Keep Your Sleep Apnea From Getting Worse?

Sleep apnea causes your breathing to stop briefly, waking you up gasping for air. So, you have to avoid foods, habits, and substances that can affect your throat and airways in ways that can make breathing during sleep even harder.

Sleeping On Your Back

Your sleeping position impacts your sleep apnea. The worst sleeping position for people with sleep apnea is sleeping on your back. The force of gravity applies to the tongue as well, so it slides back to the throat, effectively blocking it. As your throat muscles get blocked in sleep apnea, this additional blockage will only do more harm. So, avoid sleeping on your back. Plus, sleeping on your stomach is also not recommended.

Try to sleep on either side. If you want to sleep on your back, raise your upper body from 30 to 60 degrees to keep the tongue from blocking the throat.

Drinking Alcohol

Alcohol consumption, especially a few hours before bedtime, can make your sleep apnea worse. Alcohol can relax your throat’s tissues, which can make the collapsing of the airway more likely. Not only that, this can make the airways blockage more frequent and longer, posing a serious risk. So, avoid alcohol consumption.

Gaining Weight

As you gain weight, more muscles and fat are added to your body. This means that your throat gets additional tissues that can restrict it. As the throat gets blocked in sleep apnea, an already-obstructed throat due to weight gain will make breathing even harder during sleep. This makes sleep apnea worse and more dangerous.

Moreover, it’s also been noted that people with extra pounds experience more daytime sleepiness that can be due to the increased breathing problem during sleep, which translates to an increased sleep disruption. This can increase daytime sleepiness.

Sedatives

There are many types of sedatives and drugs, such as benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, etc.), opioids (oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, codeine, etc.), and other sedative sleep medications that can severely impact your nervous system and sleep apnea.

Many of these drugs can slow down your nervous system in various ways that can directly affect your breathing during sleep. This will also negatively impact your likelihood of waking up when breathing stops during sleep. This is a huge risk.

Moreover, any of these sedatives can become even riskier with alcohol consumption.

Beware: Some sedative drug combinations, like opioid + benzodiazepine, can severely affect breathing and can even lead to death during sleep.

If you’re taking any sedative or related medicine, discuss it with your doctor to make sure it’s not bad for your sleep apnea.

Smoking

Smoking is not recommended in any case, but for people with sleep apnea, it’s even more problematic because it can make your sleep apnea worse.

Smoke irritates the parts from the mouth to the lungs that lead to swelling. This restricts airways and creates severe sleep apnea problems. Moreover, other things like more mucus and congestion, more snoring, and sleep disruption due to smoking can only worsen your sleep quality and sleep apnea. Considering programs to quit smoking can help you manage sleep apnea in a better way.

Using CPAP Inconsistently

A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) or a BiPAP (bi-level positive airway pressure) machine is prescribed by a sleep doctor Jessup if required. If it’s prescribed, it should be used consistently every time you sleep, including naps, to get noticeable results and improvements in your sleep quality and your lifestyle.

Inconsistent use may make the CPAP machine feel like it’s not working for you. So, even though using a CPAP machine can be uncomfortable for many people, you have to adjust to it and consult your doctor for adjustments or an alternative.

Not Fixing CPAP Problems

If the CPAP machine’s mask is smaller or leaking, it can ruin the benefits. Moreover, a noisy CPAP machine can stop you from sleeping soundly. So, fix these problems.

Ignoring Monitoring When Using A CPAP Machine

You should have someone check on you during your sleep when you start using a CPAP machine to ensure the machine is working fine and you’re not gasping for air. This is critical because a CPAP machine is best for two major types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea. If you have complex sleep apnea, your doctor can still prescribe a CPAP machine, but it can be a problem if not monitored.

This is because in some people with complex sleep apnea who use a CPAP machine, their brain may stop reminding the body or lungs to breathe, making sleep apnea worse, even life-threatening. Contact your doctor for adjustments or an alternative.

But whichever type of sleep apnea you have, if you’re uncomfortable with the CPAP machine, discuss it with your doctor to adjust things or consider other treatments.

Not Cleaning The CPAP Machine

You must clean your CPAP or BiPAP machine regularly to avoid additional breathing problems due to the growth of mold and bacteria inside the mask and the pipe. This can lead to allergies and breathing congestion that can directly make sleep apnea worse.

Neglecting Food Restrictions Suggested By Your Doctor

Apart from alcohol, which is considered one of the worst dietary items for people with sleep apnea, there are other foods as well that can make it worse. Your doctor may suggest that you remove these foods from your diet:

High-Fat Dairy Items

High-fat diary items like whole milk, cream, ice cream, etc., can cause more mucus buildup in the mouth that can restrict your airways and your breathing. This can make your sleep apnea even more problematic.

Ultra-Processed Meats And Foods

Processed food is not a good word among health enthusiasts, and for people with sleep apnea, it’s bad news. Burgers, bacon, sausages, and others have sodium that is infamous for causing inflammation in the body. This can also make your throat tissues and airways swell, creating breathing problems that are intensified during sleep due to sleep apnea.

Refined Carbohydrates And Sugary Foods

Food items with refined carbohydrates and sugar, such as white bread, pizza crust, biscuits, wheat pasta, macaroni, donuts, pastries, pancakes, candies, chocolate bars, sodas, etc., cause a sudden hike in blood sugar levels and insulin. This is linked to weight gain, which is bad for sleep apnea.

Spicy Foods

Spicy and acidic foods can cause acid reflux, which is a sleep apnea trigger. So, avoid spicy dishes, spicy condiments, heavy spices, and also citrus foods, citrus juices, tomato-based foods, vinegar, and others a few hours before bed to sleep well without frequent sleep apnea symptoms.

Conclusion

Living with sleep apnea requires you to change your lifestyle and avoid things that can make it worse. Make sure to avoid the above-mentioned things and see a sleep specialist Baltimore for treatment and management.