There are different ways to help cure sleep apnea and since we are sleeping when it attacks, it’s natural to wonder what can we do as we sleep or before we sleep to protect ourselves. Let me help you with that!
So, does sleeping with head elevated help sleep apnea? Yes, sleeping with head elevated can help sleep apnea because lying straight down on our backs may worsen the obstruction in the airways which causes apnea.
An obstructed airway will make breathing difficult which is the main cause of sleep apnea.
When we lay down without our heads elevated properly, our airways will work against gravity. The air that enters our passages may not circulate inside us correctly.
However, if we elevate our heads in our sleep, we can help our bodies breathe better than lying down straight and flat.
According to research, sleep apnea and snoring can occur when the muscles in your upper airway relax causing the air to become restricted either through your nose or throat.
By elevating our heads, the restriction is lessened because the muscles are positioned properly.
For example, sleep apnea patients can sleep in a chair that is specifically designed to help conditions such as sleep apnea or use sleep wedge pillows that allow our heads to rest slightly elevated.
By using a chair to sleep, you can also avoid unconsciously slouching down to lie straight down straight on your back again.
We may try to sleep on our sides but once we fall asleep, our position is beyond our control. In fact, lying on our sides is the best position to sleep in with sleep apnea, but we cannot control that as we drift into sleep.
So the least we can do is by making sure our head is elevated when we sleep to lessen the risk of sleep apnea. However, keep in mind that it’s only a small remedy and may not leave a huge impact on your apnea.
Just in case you’ve already tried sleeping with your head elevated or using a recliner, there may be some reasons why. Read on to learn more about sleep apnea and how to cure it.
Why sleeping with head elevated may not help sleep apnea
If you’ve already tried sleeping in a chair and it doesn’t seem to
help your sleep apnea, then the simple answer is that there might be
other reasons that caused your sleep apnea.
There are certain
factors that can cause sleep apnea that will only be cured through
surgeries or special treatments. Here are some examples of those factors
that you might not know of.
- Hypothyroidism
- The condition wherein your body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which is needed to control how to use energy received from food through metabolism. Bad metabolism can affect heartbeat and breathing.
- Even if you are sleeping in a chair, if you have hypothyroidism, your sleep apnea may persist
- Acromegaly
- Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
- Allergies
- There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
- Drug usage
- Sedations or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea or worsen it.
- Being male
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea more than females.
- Clearly, this factor is inevitable but this might mean you may need more than just simply sleeping with your head elevated.
- Being old
- Observations also revealed that older adults are more prone to sleep apnea than younger ones due to more complicated health issues that may trigger sleep apnea
- Similar to being male, this may mean simply sleeping with your head elevated will no longer be as effective as it should be especially if sleep apnea has been worsened by time.
Other natural causes of sleep apnea that may prevent sleeping with your head elevated from working can be a thick neck, narrow throat and having a round head.
When sleeping with head elevated doesn’t help sleep apnea
So once again, there is still a possibility that what’s effective for others may not be as effective for you. After all, people may have different conditions and causes for their sleep apnea.
In this case, if sleeping with the head elevated does not help you treat your sleep apnea, there are plenty of other options that you can consider.
The main idea is knowing the cause to get rid of it, but here’s a list that you can try.
- Nasal Strips
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat sleep apnea and its symptoms such as snoring. Nowadays, there are newly developed nasal strips that you can try.
- Oral Appliance
- Oral pieces can help with sleep apnea and they are custom made to make sure it prevents the obstruction in the airways and counter sleep apnea.
- CPAP Treatment
- The CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” is a commonly used treatment and proven to be effective for sleep apnea patients.
- Lose weight
- Being overweight or obesity can be a cause of sleep apnea. You can potentially get rid of sleep apnea by getting plenty of exercises and maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
- Sleep apnea will also cause you to uncontrollably gain weight, so you must counter the side effects to lessen the severity.
- Stop or avoid smoking too much.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen sleep apnea. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of gaining fat. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of sleep apnea.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Drinking too much alcohol before sleeping can cause and worsen sleep apnea just like smoking.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause sleep apnea. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Maintain a proper sleep routine.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to sleep apnea since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
- Don’t overwork yourself all the time.
- Going to sleep exhausted can make us a lot more prone to sleep apnea. It’s important to relax a little bit at first before going to bed to lessen the risk of sleep apnea.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have sleep apnea. Treat or avoid triggering your allergies to avoid sleep apnea.
But what if you don’t want to keep just sleeping with your head elevated? How do you permanently get rid of sleep apnea? Well don’t worry, it is possible to cure sleep apnea today using surgeries.
How to cure sleep apnea if sleeping with the head elevated is not enough
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Over time, parents can adjust the brace using a special key to increase the amount of pressure for the teeth.
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- It might take months to recover.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the 2nd example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
When sleep apnea is not treated
When sleep apnea is ignored or sleeping with your head elevated is not enough to help make the situation better, you are leaving yourself exposed to a number of greater risks.
Sleep apnea is not a simple condition that must be overlooked, check this list of possible risks that can happen if you don’t find a way to help your sleep apnea get cured.
- Heart failure
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
- Heart attack
- Can also be severely threatening
- Irregular heartbeat
- Worsens the ability to breathe
- Can trigger anxiety
- Stroke
- Can leave permanent damage
- May lead to paralysis
- Depression
- Not an easy condition to treat
- Diabetes
- Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
- High Blood Pressure
- Aside from your physical health, this can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work
- Increases ADHD
- Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus which is what happens when you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Having a lack of control to focus can lead to frustration
- Headaches
- You may wake up with a bad headache which will lead to other problems listed here
- Lack of daily energy
- As mentioned, your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well.
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
The thing is, sleep apnea, if left untreated or worsened by other factors, can lead to death. Its risks can be fatal and leave permanent damage or severe pain and feeling of sickness which can drag on daily.
If diagnosed with sleep apnea, one must consider treating the problem as soon as possible in order to prevent any unwanted scenarios related to your health.
Related Questions
- Does sleeping with your head elevated stop snoring?
Yes, sleeping with your head elevated helps keep the airways open. If the airways are obstructed, difficulty in breathing may occur which may cause snoring and eventually cause sleep apnea.
- Does sleeping on your stomach help sleep apnea?
No, sleeping on your stomach can actually worsen sleep apnea. It may stop the snoring, but it will not do anything to keep your airways open unlike sleeping with your head elevated.
