Basically, this means on your back with your face up and arms at your side. The worst position you can sleep in if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea is called soldier style or the supine position. Worst Sleeping Position and Other Risks for People with Sleep Apnea Sometimes, people will have problems with this position because the pillow isn't firm or soft enough. If you don't have a contoured pillow, you can use a tennis ball and place it between your legs. Try using a contoured pillow if you want to sleep sideways for your health, but are having difficulty adjusting. Simple Lifehack if Sleeping Sideways Does Not Come Naturally to You These machines are referred to as APAPs and BiPAPs. New research suggests that sleeping on your side may also indirectly benefit people affected by CSA.ĬSA brings added symptoms and manifests itself more frequently in men than in women.ĬSA patients may be served best by servo-ventilator machines or unvented masks, which monitor breathing directly and kick in with extra pressure when necessary. Since it is a communication error between the nervous and respiratory systems, it cannot be directly affected by changing your sleeping position and may affect your quality of sleep more severely than OSA. It is called central sleep apnea because the problem originates from the central nervous system. It results from a failure of communication between your brain and the rest of your system. This kind of sleep apnea accounts for about 15 - 20% of cases. Sleeping position can't do as much to fix this kind of apnea. It also has the unfortunate tendency to develop as a consequence of CSA, which we will go over next. Having a larger-than-average tongue or tonsils can lead to airway obstruction. Most often, this is a combination of age and having excess soft tissue in and around the airways. Sleeping in the fetal position is not recommended either since it can cause neck pain and cause back pain as well as affect your breathing pattern. Stomach sleepers may also bury their face in their pillow which affects their breathing patterns. Stomach sleeping is not recommended because it can hinder your breathing and put a strain on your neck. Sleeping on your left side specifically can help increase overall blood flow and sleeping on your right side may help prevent snoring by reducing airflow blockages. Sleeping sideways may also help prevent acid reflux specifically, gastroesophageal reflux, which can sometimes stimulate apneas. If you are a side sleeper then you can clear the obstruction the occurs with OSA. Sleeping sideways can grant immense relief with this kind of apnea because gravity will pull the obstruction out of harm's way.ĭuring OSA, something is physically obstructing the upper airway and preventing fresh oxygen from entering the lungs. It can sometimes be fixed by sleeping sideways. This leads to abrupt drops in blood oxygen saturation, with oxygen levels plummeting 40% in some cases How Your Sleeping Position Can Help Your Sleep Apnea The interruptions in your breathing pattern can actually last upwards of one minute. Whether totally or partially blocked, most pauses in breathing last between 10 and 30 seconds. People who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea often also experience hypopneas, which are partial reductions in the airways during sleep. Side sleeping, meaning that you sleep on either your left side or right side, is the best sleep position to use when you have OSA because it can help reduce blockages. If you have been diagnosed with OSA by your sleep medicine professional, you may be able to make nights easier for yourself by simply using positional therapy or training yourself to use another sleeping position. The most common treatment option for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP. OSA accounts for 80% of all sleep apnea cases. This sleep disorder is called obstructive sleep apnea. This can usually be directly attributed to relaxed throat muscles during sleep, but it is especially dangerous when combined with alcohol. The word 'apnea' comes from the Latin phrase for 'without breath'.Ī grand majority of sleep apnea cases are a result of physical blockages in the upper airways.
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