Exercises to Relieve Sleep Apnea Symptoms

What is sleep apnea? This is a sleep disorder wherein the patient is unable to sleep well or derive from any benefits of sleeping. This is due to the irregular breathing pattern that includes gaps and pauses. Whenever we encounter breathing gaps or breathing stoppage for a period of more than 10 seconds and for several periods within an hour, we are depriving our body from the much needed supply of oxygen. This will lead to some of the sleep apnea symptoms like choking or gasping for air, which disrupts deep slumber. It also contributes to restlessness in sleep, night sweating and imposes extra work to the heart.

Moderate to severe cases of this illness should be addressed drastically or with treatments that offers immediate relief from sleep apnea symptoms. This could either be in the form of CPAP therapy or surgery. With the CPAP, patients will be required to wear CPAP masks attached to CPAP machines when going to sleep. The therapy works by supplying constant air pressure through the patients airways, regulating his breathing pattern. There are CPAP mask models to choose from and CPAP machines are preset to accommodate patients' need and prescription. CPAP therapy is just a temporary intervention and not a cure to sleep apnea. So the patient is relieved of the symptoms every time he wears the mask.


Patients with severe apnea cases who wants instant relief but don't want to wear masks can also opt for a sleep apnea operation instead. There are several types of apnea operations, each designed to address a specific apnea case. There might be cases where patients might have to go thru more than one operation; this is dependent on the severity of the symptoms. Procedures can be minor, minimally invasive and out-patient with local anesthetics. There are also major surgical operations that deal with extensive and precise procedures, long recovery periods, painful, risky and expensive. The kind of operation for you largely depends on the type of illness that you have.

For mild to moderate cases, a patient can address the symptoms with less drastic treatments. By improving one's overall quality of living, these symptoms can be effectively reduced, if not totally eliminated. Eating healthy, maintaining ideal weight and shunning vices and abusive lifestyle and regular exercises could help a lot. Exercises and active lifestyle is highly recommended. This promotes better sleep at night and keeps you awake and alert during daytime. It also addresses weight issues that contribute a lot to sleep apnea.

There are also several sleep apnea exercises which can be used to battle symptoms like snoring and breathing gaps. These exercises basically work to improve muscle tones in your throat and nasal airways. Firm tissues and muscles will not collapse and block the airways while you are asleep. This is usually the case with palate tissues, the uvula, the tongue, tonsils and the adenoids. These exercises do not deliver instant relief, it may take months before the patient could feel any improvement on the sleep apnea symptoms, and like any muscle building regimen, it needs consistency and dedication.