Learning breathing techniques and practicing nose, mouth, and throat exercises for sleep apnea can support excellent outcomes, whether you’d like to reduce the severity of nighttime snoring or have lived with obstructive sleep apnea for years and want to understand the best ways to promote healthy breathing.

These exercises are technically known as ‘myofunctional’ or ‘oropharyngeal’ techniques. They rely on repeating patterns and movements that train your muscles and airways to solidify the functions and stability of the breathing mechanisms you depend on while you rest.

While there are no established medical or natural ways to cure sleep apnea entirely, there is evidence that the right breathing routines can be worthwhile over time, especially if you are looking to adopt more holistic practices as part of your approach to sleep apnea.

Introducing Nasal Breathing for Sleep Apnea Sufferers

Along with a protein-rich, healthy sleep apnea diet plan, breathing techniques are typically recommended for people who want to take actionable steps to enhance the quality of their sleep, often combined with changes to their sleep routine and overall command of stress.

The basics are that when you sleep, the symptoms of sleep apnea, such as sudden wakefulness, gasping for air, or pauses in your breathing, are caused by pressure and narrowing in your airways. This makes you breathe faster, pulling your tongue backways and creating an exacerbated restriction in the airway.

Breathing exercises work by changing the way you maintain normal oxygen saturation at rest. They can also be used as a physical approach to alter your facial posture if medical conditions impact your breathing.

Myofunctional rehabilitation is a broad area and covers multiple exercises that address issues related to your neck, throat, breathing, and tongue position, among others–with no risks or downsides aside from dedicating a little time each day. However, it is important not to discontinue any medications a practitioner prescribes as breathing techniques do not deliver instantaneous results. Skipping a prescribed medication could carry health risks and should be discussed with your physician.

Can Nasal Breathing Techniques Help Develop Better Sleep?

Several credible clinical studies have evaluated the efficacy and success of breathing techniques, including nasal breathing exercises:

• One study found that using myofunctional interventions to aid with obstructive sleep apnea lowered symptoms in 50% of adults and 62% of children, including higher oxygen saturation, less snoring, and better sleep outcomes.
• A separate review of previous research projects with a similar focus found that breathing exercises, compared to routine medical options, could reduce daytime fatigue and augment sleep quality.

Most specialists recommend practicing breathing exercises for up to thirty minutes daily, although sustained breathing training is also important. Following the exercises for three months or more is thought to be more effective than performing them for longer each day but for a shorter period.

Examples of Nasal Breathing Exercises That May Promote Natural Nighttime Breathing

The norm is to breathe through our noses during the day, although shortness of breath due to a restricted airway at night can prompt breathing through the mouth. Snoring, often a symptom of sleep apnea, is generally more likely to occur in people who breathe primarily through their noses.

Nasal breathing techniques may be recommended to strengthen the muscles in the mouth and throat. However, some people with sleep apnea may prefer to combine techniques rather than focusing solely on nasal breathing. Much may depend on the nature and causes of your sleep apnea, but it could be beneficial to work on breathing through your diaphragm, tightening and releasing your jaw, and developing your tongue movements.

Exercises can include:

• Focused breathing through each side of the nose, closing one nostril at a time with a fingertip, and breathing deliberately and slowly for several repetitions before changing sides
• A mouth breathing exercise called ‘balloon breathing,’ which involves using a balloon and concentrating on breathing into the neck with sufficient force to inflate it, repeating the technique several times

Like all forms of exercise, building and strengthening muscles and reinforcing breathing movements and patterns take time, although the lack of equipment means you can perform breathing techniques at any time you choose. Sleep Apnea Solution, the latest book by award-winning researcher and peer-reviewed author Dr. Dylan Petkus offers more detailed instructions and information about breathing techniques for sleep apnea!

Breathing techniques are among the many sleep apnea natural remedies, providing sufferers with ways to augment the effectiveness of prescribed medications or devices they may be using, or promote good nighttime breathing holistically.

Learning the right mouth and throat exercises is important as these may depend on the type and severity of sleep apnea you have. However, building muscle strength, reinforcing natural breathing patterns, and enhancing how muscles in your mouth and throat function can help relieve or reduce obstructions and restrictions within your airway.

While managing sleep apnea naturally is an aspiration for many, it remains essential to consult your physician or consultant before making any major changes and to ensure natural alternatives are combined with prescribed treatments in a safe and properly supervised way.

Breathing Techniques and Sleep Apnea

Alongside mouth and throat exercises, there are several nasal breathing techniques sleep apnea sufferers use, which, combined with lifestyle changes and education, can create a personalized approach to the condition. Also referred to as ‘oropharyngeal exercises,’ these movements have many applications to enhance the health and function of the muscles we use to swallow, speak, and breathe.

Because obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by the narrowing or tightening of the airway during sleep or is associated with momentary airway collapses, strengthening and optimizing the function of these muscles is thought to assist, although it may not always be a standalone solution for more complex cases of sleep apnea.

What Are the Benefits of Mouth and Throat Exercises for Sleep Apnea?

It is important to note that the advantages and impacts of breathing techniques and exercises will vary between individuals, often depending on the time you spend practicing per day and the number of days or weeks you commit to regular exercises. However, some sleep apnea sufferers report the following outcomes:

• Better muscle tone in the mouth and throat, potentially minimizing the likelihood of the throat and airway becoming obstructed during sleep
• Reductions in sleep apnea symptoms, with fewer instances of disturbed sleep and generally better sleep quality
• Higher effectiveness of conventional medical treatments such as a CPAP machine or mouth guard, possibly with the option to reduce pressure settings in line with symptom reductions made
• Affordability, with no cost associated with mouth and throat exercises, no expensive devices or medications, and the ability to perform techniques anywhere of your choosing

For most, mouth and throat exercises should be introduced along with an augmented sleep hygiene routine to see the biggest changes. Positive adjustments to create habitual sleep schedules, avoid alcohol and caffeine, and work towards a healthier, sleep-focused diet may also be recommended.

Varied Types of Sleep Apnea Exercises to Try

Multiple exercises and techniques exist, many of which are applicable to a broad range of sleep apnea symptoms and others that may be specifically relevant to the nature of the sleep disruptions you experience, as well as your lifestyle. Below, we have summarized the techniques you may be interested in while noting that this is not an exhaustive list:

• Tongue exercises, such as holding your tongue in a certain place and repeating it several times, can reinforce your tongue’s muscle memory and tone.
• Soft palate exercises involve breathing, blowing, or opening your mouth widely while making a noise to strengthen the muscles within your palate.
• Jaw and swallowing exercises can help familiarize the sensation of movements and relax your throat and jaw with neck stretches or those that simulate yawning and jaw holds.

Breathing exercises for sleep apnea also focus on using the diaphragm to provide better breathing. This teaches the diaphragm to contract, drawing air into the lungs and relax to push it back outward.

Combining Sleep Apnea Breathing Exercises With Other Options

If you are already undergoing recommended therapies or prescribed treatments for sleep apnea, there may not necessarily be any reason to consider changing them; instead, mouth and throat exercises can work in conjunction to assist with enhanced overall outcomes. However, you may also find that, over time, mouth and throat exercises, lifestyle changes, and positional adaptations to adjust the way you sleep can relieve pressure on your airway and produce excellent results.

Sleep Apnea Solution, the latest book from former sleep apnea sufferer, acclaimed researcher, and established author Dr. Dylan Petkus, provides further information, including the latest advanced breathing exercises to try for yourself!

Sleep apnea can increase your susceptibility to atrial fibrillation (AFib) through several factors like prolonged low levels of oxygen in your blood, increased pressure in your blood vessels, inflammations in your blood vessels, oxidative stress, etc.

Under normal circumstances, your heart responds to heartbeats by contracting and relaxing consistently. This changes when you have AFib because it causes the upper chambers of your heart, known as ‘atria,’ to beat irregularly.

So, what exactly causes AFib? Can sleep apnea cause AFib? In this article, we will answer these questions and tell you why you should consider the Dr. Dylan Petkus sleep apnea solution.

How Sleep Apnea Causes AFib

Here are the main ways sleep apnea can result in AFib.:

Low Levels of Blood Oxygen

When you have irregular heartbeats, the amount of blood pumped out of the upper chambers of your heart decreases, leaving pools of blood in the area. This can lead to serious heart problems, like heart failure and stroke. 

Sleep apnea also causes repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction, resulting in recurring incidents of low blood oxygen. This triggers oxidative stress and increases the risk of damage in your heart.

This condition also causes your nervous system to respond with a flight-or-fight reaction, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The continuous stress on your heart can cause electrical inconsistencies and arrhythmias like AFib.

 Imbalanced Nervous System Responses

As noted above, sleep apnea causes overactivity in your nervous system due to frequent awakenings from sleep. This leads to erratic heartbeats and an increased breathing rate, pushing your blood pressure and heart rate through the roof.

It can also cause parasympathetic withdrawal in your nervous system, which regulates your heart rhythm. The resulting imbalance between your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems leaves your heart susceptible to AFib.

Related Conditions

Many other medical conditions can coexist with sleep apnea, including depression and obesity, which increases the risk of AFib. Hypertension is another common condition that makes sleep apnea patients more vulnerable to AFib.

Stretched Upper Chambers of Your Heart

When you experience frequent sleep disruptions, attempting to breathe through your obstructed airways causes a negative pressure between your neck and abdomen, increasing the return of blood to your heart. This leaves your atrial walls stretched.

Over time, this excess pressure and stretching will cause structural changes in the upper chambers of your heart (atrial remodeling). This interrupts the normal electrical pathways and increases your risk of developing AFib.

Imbalance Between Free Radicals and Antioxidants

Sleep apnea causes your nervous system to produce inflammatory mediators, which can increase your susceptibility to AFib. This leads to an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants, causing oxidative stress and systemic inflammation.

Recurring incidents of low oxygen in your blood and reoxygenation may increase oxidative stress and damage your heart tissues. This also increases your risk of developing AFib. 

And can sleep apnea cause headaches? Yes–with reduced levels of oxygen and increased amounts of carbon dioxide in your blood, you may wake up with a headache.

Disrupted Sleep and Exhaustion

Sleep apnea causes frequent awakenings and patchy sleep that lead to chronic exhaustion and deteriorating health of your heart. Prolonged fatigue and poor sleep can result in other AFib risk factors‒like high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Closing Thoughts

By overcoming sleep apnea through natural interventions like lifestyle changes, exercising, and training, you can easily mitigate many of these risk factors for AFib. It will also lessen the severity of AFib.

You can learn more about enhancing natural sleeping mechanisms on Optimal Circadian Health. Our ebook, Sleep Apnea Solution by Dr. Dylan Petkus, teaches you methods of overcoming sleep apnea naturally, including breathing routines, dietary tips, and ideas on how to reset your nervous system before sleep!

Yes, sleep apnea–particularly, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)–can often cause recurring headaches, especially in the morning when you wake. Of course, because many factors can contribute to morning headaches (including alcohol, stress, and underlying medical conditions) you need a proper diagnosis from a medical professional to get a formal diagnosis.

How do you know if your headache is due to sleep apnea, and not stress or excessive alcohol consumption? Can sleep apnea cause anxiety? This is where the opinion of a qualified and experienced medical doctor becomes necessary. 

It’s also a good idea to read the Sleep Apnea Solution book by Dr. Dylan Petkus, which offers expert information on this condition.

Is Your Headache Associated With Sleep Apnea?

Headaches caused by sleep apnea are frequent and often occur in the morning when you wake up. These headaches are mainly caused by interrupted sleep and rapid reduction in the levels of oxygen in your blood while sleeping. 

There are three main causes of headaches associated with sleep apnea:

Yes, sleep apnea–particularly, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)–can often cause recurring headaches, especially in the morning when you wake. Of course, because many factors can contribute to morning headaches (including alcohol, stress, and underlying medical conditions) you need a proper diagnosis from a medical professional to get a formal diagnosis.

How do you know if your headache is due to sleep apnea, and not stress or excessive alcohol consumption? Can sleep apnea cause anxiety? This is where the opinion of a qualified and experienced medical doctor becomes necessary. 

It’s also a good idea to read the Sleep Apnea Solution book by Dr. Dylan Petkus, which offers expert information on this condition.

Is Your Headache Associated With Sleep Apnea?

Headaches caused by sleep apnea are frequent and often occur in the morning when you wake up. These headaches are mainly caused by interrupted sleep and rapid reduction in the levels of oxygen in your blood while sleeping. 

There are three main causes of headaches associated with sleep apnea:

Hypoxia

‘Hypoxia’ refers to the reduced supply of oxygen in your blood. This condition causes headaches in several ways:

• Enlargement of your blood vessels (vasodilation) occurs as your heart attempts to increase the amount of oxygen delivered to the tissues. This increases intracranial pressure, leading to headaches. Can sleep apnea cause AFib? Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is an abnormal heart rate caused by fast and irregular beats. Sleep apnea can cause AFib through recurring hypoxia.

• Hypoxia is normally accompanied by increased carbon dioxide in your blood (hypercapnia). Too much carbon dioxide in your blood results in widened blood vessels in your brain and recurring headaches.
• Insufficient oxygen in your blood triggers an inflammatory response in your body, causing the release of inflammatory mediators that destabilize your pain pathways, leading to a headache.
• Hypoxia disrupts your sleep, causing you to wake up regularly throughout the night. Without restful sleep, you’re more susceptible to morning headaches.
• Prolonged hypoxia alters your body’s pain threshold, making you more vulnerable to headaches.

Fragmented Sleep 

Short, regular disruptions of sleep can cause morning headaches in these ways:

• A normal sleep cycle has several stages, including deep sleep and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. These stages allow you to enjoy restorative sleep/rest. Fragmented sleep affects this cycle, causing inadequate sleep and morning headaches.
• Fragmented sleep also causes you to sleep in different awkward positions, thus increasing muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. Therefore, you’re likely to suffer tension-type headaches.
• Regular awakenings disrupt the balance of your independent nervous system, resulting in increased fight-or-flight responses. These responses cause changes in your blood vessels, contributing to morning headaches.
• Interrupted sleep causes fatigue and cognitive strain, leading to mental stress. This further contributes to headaches upon waking up. 

Accumulation of Carbon Dioxide in Your Blood

Increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in your blood cause morning headaches in the following ways:

• Increased CO2 levels can cause blood vessel enlargement in your brain. This increases blood flow to the brain, raising the intracranial pressure that causes headaches.
• Because CO2 is an acidic gas, it can cause the pH of your blood to drop, leading to increased acidity in your respiratory organs. Your body responds to this acid through an increased breathing rate. During sleep, your breathing rate is reduced, causing prolonged acidosis and headache.
• High levels of CO2 in your blood will trigger an inflammatory response by releasing inflammatory mediators that will irritate the pain-sensitive components of your brain, resulting in a headache.

Final Thoughts

If you are experiencing recurrent headaches along with symptoms like snoring, daytime sleepiness, or breathing interruptions while sleeping, consult a medical doctor for a proper diagnosis. Additionally, check out Optimal Circadian Health’s resources, such as our ebook, Sleep Apnea Solution!

Sleep apnea can cause anxiety, but not all cases of anxiety are due to sleep apnea. The connection between the two disorders can be described through several concepts, including: psychological stress, sleep disruption, and effects on brain function among others.

Sleep apnea causes both physical and psychological effects. For instance, it’ll leave you feeling exhausted, confused, and sleepy during the day. 

Some of the common psychological effects of sleep apnea include a lack of concentration, depression, mood swings, and brain fog. One of the major concerns about this sleep disorder is its association with anxiety and panic attacks. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the link between sleep apnea and anxiety and why you should try a new solution for sleep apnea.

How Is Anxiety Related to Sleep Apnea?

Here are some reasons why sleep apnea could be the reason you’re feeling anxious or experiencing panic attacks:

Stress

Sleep apnea causes recurring incidents of low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide in your blood. This triggers stress response processes in your body like the flight-or-fight response, resulting in increased anxiety. 

Can sleep apnea cause headaches? Unfortunately, it can. Reduced levels of oxygen in your blood can result in secondary headaches like high-altitude headaches (HAH) and headaches caused by serious mountain sickness. Furthermore, too much CO2 in your blood causes headaches, shortness of breath, and daytime sleepiness.

Disrupted Sleep

Recurrent sleep disruptions caused by blocked airways lead to poor sleep quality. These disruptions will eventually lead to anxiety and mood swings. 

You might feel nervous or fearful before you go to bed every night because you’re not sure if you’ll get enough rest. The experience of waking up gasping for air due to blocked airways can also make you anxious.

Poor Brain Function

Disrupted sleep and oxygen deficiency can negatively impact your cognitive functioning, affecting critical areas of your brain, especially those involved in regulating your moods and processing emotions.

This leaves you more susceptible to anxiety and other psychological issues. In extreme cases, a lack of oxygen in your blood can damage your brain. Signs of brain damage include memory problems, poor concentration, and mood swings.

Related Disorders

Anxiety can cause various sleep problems like difficulty falling asleep, inability to stay asleep, and insomnia. These disorders will make your anxiety worse, leading to a never-ending cycle of sleep apnea and anxiety. These conditions can aggravate each other.

Other Common Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

There are many misconceptions about sleep apnea‒mainly because it presents the same symptoms as other sleep disorders like insomnia. The best way to distinguish sleep apnea from other sleep disorders is the sounds involved.

So, what does sleep apnea sound like? Here are the most common sounds associated with sleep apnea:

• Loud snoring: This is a croaky sound that happens when you attempt to breathe in and out of blocked airways.
• Gasping or choking: When your airways are blocked, you’ll wake up gasping for air. This is very startling and a major cause of anxiety as you wake up struggling to breathe. 
• Snorting: You may snort as you try to open your airway and start breathing again. This occurs frequently when you have sleep apnea.

The Bottom Line

Overcoming sleep apnea is a multifaceted process that involves training and lifestyle changes. Previously, the only way to deal with this disorder was through a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. 

However, medical experts have discovered more effective and less complicated ways of overcoming sleep apnea, including breathing routine training, physical exercises, and dietary changes among others. Check out Optimal Circadian Health’s ebook, Sleep Apnea Solution, to learn more about these procedures!

If, like many sleep apnea sufferers, you have read countless sleep apnea books and resources that inform you that you need to lose weight or that weight loss will ‘reverse’ your symptoms or cure the condition, you’re already aware that this isn’t true. Healthy, sustained weight loss can benefit some people with sleep apnea who are overweight as extra weight can add pressure, which further restricts your airways–but it is essential to reiterate that there is no proven cure, nor is dramatic weight loss always advisable.

In this post, we’ll explore the relationship between weight and sleep apnea and clarify how anyone, regardless of weight, can help restore their natural nighttime breathing!

Why Do Some Sleep Apnea Guides Recommend Losing Weight?

While we’ve cleared up the misconception that weight loss can somehow reverse sleep apnea, there is medical research to indicate that in obese sleep apnea patients, a degree of well-managed weight loss can assist in a reduction in the severity of their symptoms. Research by the Sleep Foundation tells us that losing 10% to 15% of body mass in overweight people can lessen symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea by as much as 50%.

However, not every sleep apnea sufferer will need to lose any weight, and in some cases, assuming that weight loss is the key could even be harmful, especially for underweight people who may benefit far more from focusing on balanced nutrition and healthy activity levels.

How many people have sleep apnea thought to be linked to obesity? An article published by the National Library of Medicine found that the risk of sleep apnea is roughly 25% across the population but rises to 45% in people with obesity. This means that if you suffer from sleep apnea and have an opportunity to actively target your symptoms by working towards a healthier diet and more physical movement, this could help–but it is not a cure, nor is it necessary for everybody.

How Does Being Overweight Exacerbate Sleep Apnea?

As we’ve seen, carrying extra weight can increase the chance of developing sleep apnea. It can also impact the symptoms you experience, where a narrow or blocked airway causes disturbed breathing during the night.

The challenge concerns pharyngeal fat, which can cause a blockage or worsen airway obstruction in people with sleep apnea. Other problems associated with obesity and sleep apnea occur because the additional weight adds pressure to the chest wall, reducing lung capacity.

A greater blockage or narrowing in the airway and a reduced lung capacity means your airflow is more disrupted than expected, exaggerating symptoms such as insomnia, constant nighttime waking, breathlessness and exhaustion, stress, headaches, and chronic fatigue. Another complexity for sleep apnea specialists is that some people who are initially healthy and active find that sleep apnea contributes to weight gain.

Sleep deprivation, particularly over extended periods, can harm our wellbeing and cause us to produce lower levels of the hormone leptin, which maintains and restricts our appetite. It can also mean we produce more ghrelin, a hormone that activates our appetite. With less energy to exercise or move, this can make people with sleep apnea more susceptible to weight gain due to increased hunger and less energy for movement.

How to Boost Natural Nighttime Breathing to Help With Sleep Apnea Symptoms

If you believe you would benefit from losing weight, the first step is to speak with your physician or consultant. This may be crucial if you have other health conditions or dietary requirements. Weight loss can help, but it should be approached with caution and care to maintain your overall health.

From there, we’d suggest you consider a series of advantageous steps you can take to help promote healthy breathing, including:

• Conducting a Sleep Apnea Assessment, to gain actionable insights into the condition
• Following tried and tested breathing audios, which teach routines and techniques to relax and slow your breathing
• Implementing good nutrition and using protein-rich meals and snacks that assist with healthier sleep
• Resetting your sleep environment and practicing proven sleep hygiene steps to support your efforts

You’ll find all these resources via the Optimal Circadian Health website, along with downloadable PDFs and links to our latest publication, Sleep Apnea Solution, packed with knowledge and guides for your convenience!

References:

• Marshall NS et al. Sleep apnea and 20-year follow-up for all-cause mortality, stroke, and cancer incidence in the Busselton Health Study cohort. J Clin Sleep Med. 2014;10(4):355-362.

The latest statistics from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) indicate that a staggering thirty-nine million adults across the US suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, with thirty-three million of those, or 85%, reliant on a CPAP machine to sleep. While sleep apnea is a prevalent condition, there are also countless misconceptions and assumptions about its underlying causes, the best ways to achieve relief, and how lifestyle changes can impact the symptoms of long-term and even severe sleep apnea.

In Sleep Apnea Solution, Dr. Dylan Petkus’s latest user-friendly book about sleep apnea, you can discover a wealth of information, actionable insights, and suggestions about the right breathing exercises to stimulate healthy breathing, paying attention to the environmental and metabolic factors behind the condition.

In this guide, we’ll explore some myth-busting insights to help you gain the right information to begin your journey to enhancing your natural sleep!

Sleep Apnea: The Myths Versus the Facts

One key aspect is understanding why and how the condition presents itself and what you can do to proactively boost restful breathing and sleep–especially if you’ve tried numerous remedies and medications with little success.

1. Sleep Apnea and Snoring

We’re often asked if you can have sleep apnea without snoring, and the answer is yes–you can. Although many patients struggling with sleep apnea also experience snoring, as noted by the study referenced earlier by the NCOA, it is possible to have sleep apnea and little or no snoring.

Why do we assume sleep apnea and snoring are intrinsically related? Part of the mechanism that causes sleep apnea is that our throat muscles relax and create an obstruction in the upper airway, prompting the problematic, if momentary, pause in breathing.

Many people discover that this sequence results in snoring, but you can be a heavy snorer without any sign of sleep apnea or have sleep apnea and be an incredibly quiet sleeper. This might be rare, but far from unheard of.

Symptoms such as headaches in the morning with no other discernible cause, fatigue, anxiety, and difficulties regulating your mood can also be linked to sleep apnea. Equally, they can be standalone issues or symptoms of something entirely different.

2. Weight Loss and Sleep Apnea

There are more misunderstandings about weight, holistic health, and sleep apnea that we could cover. Is sleep apnea reversible with weight loss? Just like snoring, there is a good percentage of sleep apnea cases in which healthy, well-managed weight loss may be beneficial–but it would be misleading to state that any amount of weight loss will cure sleep apnea. The Sleep Foundation notes that weight loss can ‘significantly reduce’ some symptoms related to sleep apnea, such as daytime fatigue, and contribute to improvements in blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular health.

It also found that losing 10% to 15% of body weight can correlate with a reduction of up to 50% in symptoms. The caveat is that this applies to people who are medically considered moderately obese and that it cannot and does not provide a complete cure.

Ample studies and clinical trials have confirmed that patients with weight-related health concerns may see a reduction in the severity of their sleep apnea symptoms, provided they lose weight safely. This happens because the extra pressure on the airways is removed. That said, weight loss is not a cure-all, nor will it mean that sleep apnea disappears or reduces automatically in line with weight loss.

3. Sleep Apnea and CPAP Machines

Over years of study and research, we have found that the missing link is learning breathing techniques that provide targeted enhancements to help people gain a restful night’s sleep–and that a CPAP machine is not an inevitability. As all CPAP users will know, these machines can be distracting, noisy, and difficult to travel with. CPAPs are a well-known medical tool, but some people find they cannot sleep due to the experience of claustrophobia.

If this sounds familiar, we recommend accessing our CPAP Freedom Roadmap to learn how healthy nutrition, a restful sleep environment, and a personalized sleep apnea assessment can help. More information about discovering the right way to boost your natural nighttime breathing is available on demand through our latest Sleep Apnea Solution book and the Optimal Circadian Health online resources!

References:

• Marshall NS et al. Sleep apnea and 20-year follow-up for all-cause mortality, stroke, and cancer incidence in the Busselton Health Study cohort. J Clin Sleep Med. 2014;10(4):355-362.

Sleep apnea is a condition that impacts sleep due to a narrowing of the airway. It means you might stop breathing intermittently, breathe more quickly than normal, or experience fatigue, headaches, and stress.

Does snoring mean sleep apnea? Often, yes, loud snoring is one of multiple potential symptoms. However, it is absolutely possible to experience sleep apnea even if you’ve never snored, but this doesn’t necessarily rule out sleep apnea as a potential cause of disturbed sleep. Snoring itself is a side effect–it isn’t the cause of sleep apnea. Therefore, any issues obstructing or narrowing your airway could mean you develop the condition, whether or not you snore.

Today, we’ll examine why snoring is a common indication of obstructive sleep apnea and what is actually happening in your throat when you try to sleep.

Sleep Apnea: An Overview of This Widespread Condition

One of the focuses of our book on sleep apnea, Sleep Apnea Solution, is to provide clarity and education about why the condition exists and highlight the functions within your airways that are causing the problem. There are two main types of sleep apnea:

• Having obstructive sleep apnea means your upper airway becomes blocked at night when you’re trying to sleep.

• Central sleep apnea is more complex, and while the symptoms can feel similar, the cause is linked to problems with your muscles and nerves that aren’t working as they should.

How many people have sleep apnea? There are roughly thirty-nine million adults in the US who have confirmed sleep apnea, according to data from the National Council on Aging (NCOA), but there are likely millions more who suffer in silence with disrupted sleep.

While a large proportion of people with sleep apnea also report snoring, the underlying issues may be more serious. If unaddressed, the condition can lead to health complications relating to your heart, metabolism, and kidneys. It can also cause chronic fatigue and headaches that impact your ability to go about your usual daily routines.

Why Do Most People With Sleep Apnea Also Snore?

Snoring is widely common and usually harmless. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that 45% of adults snore occasionally, and 25% snore regularly. While the volume of that snoring can be problematic, it’s rarely connected to anything suspicious.

The connection between snoring and sleep apnea is all to do with the way your airways move when you sleep:

Healthcare services may offer a sleep tracker you can wear overnight to monitor your breathing. These devices often use a system called ‘AHI scoring,’ which determines whether your sleep apnea is mild, moderate, or severe and may influence the recommendations made.

Some health conditions may make you more likely to develop sleep apnea. This is not a foregone conclusion, and it does not mean you will not experience health challenges! However, conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes are often comorbidities where sleep apnea poses a risk factor, alongside other aspects of a person’s overall health profile, such as whether they maintain a healthy weight and active lifestyle.

Can hypertension cause sleep apnea? Potentially, it can. When your breathing is erratic at night, the variations in your heart rate and blood pressure strain your cardiovascular system. This means it could be important to overcome disturbed nighttime sleeping in the interest of your long-term wellbeing.

• Sleep apnea sufferers find that when they sleep, the tissue around the airway tightens rather than relaxes to allow for natural nighttime breathing.

• The airways become narrower or temporarily blocked, which makes it harder for the air to reach your lungs.

• That increased pressure and speed of breathing to try and ‘catch up’ causes vibrations–a key cause of snoring.

This same chain of events is why snoring is more typical in older adults. The density of our muscles lowers as we age, which means our airways naturally become constricted.

This doesn’t mean everyone will develop sleep apnea in later life, but it explains why the condition and general snoring are normal at this stage. One of the core takeaways is that the speed of breathing creates the problem, contributes to more or louder snoring, and impedes your ability to relax and rest during sleep.

How Breathing Techniques Can Contribute to Healthy Sleep for People With Sleep Apnea

As we’ve discovered, faster inhalations exacerbate the blockage in your airway. You breathe quicker and quicker, trying to overcome the restriction caused by a tighter airway. The more quickly you breathe, the more your tongue becomes pulled back towards the airway, making the problem worse.

Learning how to activate slower breathing can help keep your airway open. A combination of breathing exercises, a peaceful sleep environment, and knowledge can ensure you understand how and why your sleep apnea occurs.

Slowing the speed of your breathing by following guided audio tracks, implementing a good nutritional intake, and restoring your natural circadian rhythm can be transformative and ensure you know the best ways to boost natural breathing–without a CPAP, mouth guard, or tape in sight.

You’ll find more information about sleep apnea symptoms, the importance of breathing, and insights about your own sleep apnea through our Sleep Apnea Solution book. Numerous resources, including a personalized Sleep Apnea Assessment, are also available on our website to help you get started!

References:

• Marshall NS et al. Sleep apnea and 20-year follow-up for all-cause mortality, stroke, and cancer incidence in the Busselton Health Study cohort. J Clin Sleep Med. 2014;10(4):355-362.