Behavioral Measures for Treating Sleep Disordered Breathing
Positional therapy
Some people only have sleep apnea symptoms when they're sleeping on
their back. Those individuals can effectively resolve or reduce their
sleep disordered breathing by sleeping exclusively on their side.
Positional therapy is not appropriate for everyone and for many will
not provide enough relief when used on its own.
There are several approaches to train yourself to avoid sleeping on
your back. One easy method is to sew a tube sock lengthwise down the
back of a sleep shirt and then put 2-3 tennis balls inside the sock.
This will make it uncomfortable to lie on your back. You can also use
foam positional pillows to manage your sleep position. Or you can buy
an alarm that can sense when you roll onto your back and will sound an
alarm to cue you to change positions. While these types of tools can
be helpful, positional therapy has its limitations because there's no
fool proof method to control body position. Therefore, it's critical
that you discuss this approach with your sleep physicians so you
understand the risks of untreated sleep apnea.
Weight loss
Sleep disordered breathing can be related to obesity, so for some
over-weight individuals, losing weight can reduce or eliminate their
symptoms. However, dieting and weight loss can be a very difficult
task given the daytime fatigue that often accompanies sleep apnea. If
you're overweight, talk to your doctor about using a PAP therapy as a
tool for weight loss. Treating the apnea can give you the energy you
need to maintain a healthy diet and exercise program to lose
weight.
You should be aware that weight isn't the only factor
for sleep disordered breathing. If there are anatomic abnormalities
present, weight loss alone won't be sufficient to normalize breathing.
Avoiding alcohol and sedative medication
Alcohol use and sedative medication impairs breathing during sleep
by relaxing the muscles that support the airway, making it more likely
to collapse. In addition, they blunt the body's reaction to low oxygen
levels. Even people who normally don't snore can have issues after a
night of drinking. So if you have untreated sleep apnea, the
consequences of alcohol and sedative use will be even more dramatic.
