What if I told you that your Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) machine isn't the only way to cure your sleep apnea?
That's right folks, it is definitely possible to cure sleep apnea without CPAP. And by naturally, I mean without having to splurge on expensive machinery or subject yourself to the consumption of potentially harmful drugs.
So here is my ultimate guide to curing sleep apnea without CPAP, completely, naturally, and effectively.
Throat Exercises
No, this does not involve your throat picking up little dumbbells. Pardon my feeble attempt at humour. In all seriousness, throat exercises are known to reduce symptoms of sleep apnea by up to 39 percent, the only condition being that they're performed consistently.
Here are a few throat exercises that you can perform on your own:
- Push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth and hold it in that position for 3 minutes.
- Pretend as if you're yawning and open your mouth as wide as possible; thrust your tongue out as far as it can go. You can repeat this exercise 5 times.
- Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth while saying words with open vowel sounds. (e.g. lie, see, glee, why)
- Choose your favorite song and simply sing it out loud. Do this for about 3 songs.
- Take a deflated balloon and attempt to inflate it through 5 deep breaths. The balloon should not be removed from your mouth at any point in this exercise.
- Swallow your saliva consecutively 5 times
- Place your tongue right behind your front teeth and make 'tsk' sounds. Do this continuously and at a fast pace for a minute and then rest. You can perform this exercise 5 times.
All of these exercises can be performed practically everywhere, optimally in the comfort of your own home if you don't want to get people staring at you.
Completing these exercises daily will strengthen your pharyngeal muscles. Keeping these muscles tight instead of soft will reduce your sleep apnea occurrences significantly.
Physical Exercise
In a study conducted by the University of Texas Health Science Center, they discovered a positive relationship between the frequency of sleep apnea incidence and obesity. This means that the more obese you are, the worse your sleep apnea gets. You are classified as obese if your BMI is above 40.
To calculate your BMI, simply divide your weight by your height multiplied by yourself (Formula: weight/height² or kg/m²) If you are overweight and have sleep apnea, you definitely have to start getting some exercise.
In some cases, sleep apnea may even be entirely cured once the sufferer hits a healthy weight range.
Taking brisk walks, slow jogging, and dieting will all contribute to your weight loss. Losing weight is a step-by-step procedure, and you can't expect yourself to burn everything off overnight. Before you even lose weight, you'll have to want to lose weight.
But as long as you take the first step, you've already overcome the biggest hurdle. So if you feel the need to go for a quick run, I suggest you do so right now. Just be sure to bookmark this page so you can get back to it when you're done!
Sleep on Your Side
Changing your sleeping position may not necessarily cure sleep apnea, but it can certainly reduce the number of incidences. The reason that sleeping on your back causes sleep apnea is that your tongue as well as soft palate end up sliding back, resulting in blockage. This blockage prevents your airway from passing through.
Sleeping on your side prevents all of this from happening, but you can certainly slide onto your back all over again while you're asleep.
There are wedge cushions on the market that are tailored for this specific purpose, so you may want to look at these inexpensive investments. They cost as little as $20 and compared to a CPAP machine, that's a huge bargain.
Avoid Alcohol and Sleeping Pills
If you're taking sleeping pills to fall asleep at night, then stop. If you're taking one too many beers or glasses of whiskey to fall asleep at night, then stop. I know this sounds harsh, but that's the truth.
Alcohol and sleeping pills are known to interrupt your breathing quite drastically. These substances cause your throat muscles to relax, resulting in airway blockage all over again.
The key to curing sleep apnea without CPAP is that you cannot allow your airways to be obstructed because that's the ultimate cause of sleep apnea. Eliminating any factors contributing to airway blockage is absolutely vital when it comes to curing sleep apnea without CPAP.
So please heed my advice, and take the extra step to avoid alcohol consumption or at the very least minimize it.
Chewing on Alternate Sides
There aren't any serious health effects of chewing in this manner, in case you're wondering.
This technique of chewing on alternate sides instead of relying on one will help to increase the amount of movement made by your mouth and tongue.
Your mouth should be kept closed while you chew, for the sake of maximizing the effects of this exercise. And also for the sake of the people sitting around you.
It's an 'exercise while you eat' kind of thing, targeted at minimizing the occurrences of sleep apnea. Take it as one of those throat exercises we mentioned earlier, except no one will be stealing uncomfortable glances at you!
Play the Didgeridoo
What? That's probably the first thing you thought when you read 'didgeridoo'. I don't blame you, though. A didgeridoo is a wind instrument that was first developed in northern Australia.
A team of physicians from Switzerland conducted a study that concluded that playing the didgeridoo 6 days a week for half an hour per session will have positive effects on sleep apnea. So, it is proven that playing the didgeridoo regularly over a period of time will improve your sleep apnea condition.
This is primarily because it requires a good amount of breath to play it, so it's essentially a breathing exercise in itself. You can look at other wind instruments if you can't find a didgeridoo, but they may not be as effective or require as much breathing force as the didgeridoo.
As a substitute, you can look to double-reed instruments. Common examples of these instruments include the bassoon, the sarrusophone (which looks like a giant saxophone), and the oboe.
Drinking Plenty of Water
This sounds like the remedy to everything, but there is a reason behind doing so. The soft palate at the back of your throat tends to turn sticker when you are not sufficiently hydrated.
The stickiness of your soft palate will end up clogging your nasal passages, which will block airflow. And as I mentioned before, any sort of blockage must be eliminated. The stickiness will also further aggravate your snoring and sleep apnea.
Typically, a safe gauge would be to drink about 16 cups of water a day, or 3.7 liters if you're a male. If you're a female, you'll only require 11 cups of water a day, or 2.6 liters of water.
Herbal Remedies
There are a big variety of herbal remedies that claim to resolve a good number of sleeping issues including narcolepsy, insomnia and sleep apnea included. But since this a guide to curing sleep apnea without CPAP, we'll only expose to you the herbs that cater toward curing sleep apnea.
- Vervain.
- Valerian root
- Chamomile
- Passionflower
- Hops
- Lavender
Final Word
You don't necessarily have to hop on the CPAP bandwagon if you're experiencing relatively mild sleep apnea. It is absolutely possible to cure sleep apnea without CPAP usage. Natural remedies should never be undermined because of their lack of exposure to the masses.
CAUTION: Now I need you to pay very close attention to this
Stop Snoring in 3 Minutes — Starting Tonight
The Stop Snoring and Sleep Apnea Program is a series of throat exercises designed to eliminate snoring and sleep apnea.
According to the Blue Heron Health News official site, what makes The Stop Snoring and Sleep Apnea Program a unique program is that it combines up to 24 unique but simple exercises to ensure one heals their snoring and sleep apnea problems.
The site further claims that by identifying the five existing types of snoring and carefully crafting the necessary solution to each root cause, using the program ensures that one will be healed.
The best part about the program is that one doesn’t have to strain themselves with strenuous exercise, expensive tools, and drugs, or even, really use their voice. With simple 3-to-5-minute exercises, they can regain back control of their sleep.
To learn more and test-drive the easy snoring and sleep apnea exercises for yourself, click here…