How to breath better during sleep

[ronny1980]

Hey guys,

Recently I've been finding myself waking up after 3-4 hours of sleep gasping for air. Once I'm up I cannot go back to bed. My brain feels like it has never rested and full of energy - like an adrenaline rush. This lack of sleep is making me extremely lethargic during the day and am also losing appetite hence losing weight.

At first I thought it maybe due to the amount of light coming through the windows so I ensured all sunlight was blocked off to no avail. I also tried going to massage therapy which also didn't help. I finally decided to take the sleeping pill route but still the same - wake up after several hours of sleep. I've tried OTC meds, melatonin and perscription to no avail.

I consider myself a faily healthy individual and try to exercise regularly. I have absolutely no problems falling asleep but am unable to stay asleep. This only started happening recently but has been on-going. For the past three weeks I have averaged 3 hours/night.

My condition has improved slightly after using the Breathe-Right nasal strips but I am still not getting the full 7-8 hours of rest I need. After doing some research I've come to conclude that I have some form of sleep apnea - mainly based on the fact that I am always out-of-breath when I wake up.

I've already made an appointment with my GP and will probably ask for a sleep clinic referral but I was wondering if theres anything I could do to help myself breath better during my sleep in the meantime.

I will be trying to some Vicks Vaporub later tonight to help with my slight chest congestion. I think sleeping on my side should help too.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

[GangStarr]

Best bet is to see an ENT doctor (ear nose and throat) to make sure you dont have nasal polips (sp), that and talk to your sleep clinic about possibly being diagnosed with sleep apnia (again SP, I don't know how to spell medical stuff).

Keep in mind, if you do in fact have sleep apnia, in some cases it can be cause for you doctor to inform the ministry to suspend your drivers license.

[ShadowVlican]

educate yourself starting here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

then seek medical help

i believe i have similar problems and i'm also seeking help

[Valek]

Do you do any drugs? That might be the cause. The doctors are gonna ask you that too.

[Ebola]

Sounds like Sleep Apnea to me.

Sleep more upright.

Ahh. I see someone beat me to it.

[ronny1980]

At first I didn't think lack of oxygen was the reason for waking up in the middle of the night but I did end up going to the hospital just to make sure it had nothing to do with my heart/lungs. X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds showed my organs to be in perfect shape. I was baffled as to what could be wrong with me. I thought maybe it was neurological but I had absolutely no problems falling alseep and was not stressed out.

[MrDisco]

quit smoking (if you do)
continue exercising
reduce caffeine intake
try a different pillow based on if you sleep on your back or side, sleeping on your front is not recommended
maintain a proper sleep schedule

beyond that not much else you can do until you get the sleep study done.

[trini]

Get rid of the avatar you'd be surprised what porn does to you
Get a Hepa Filter Air Cleaner
Exercise
Diet
Good Luck

[gmark2000]

I have sleep apnea and have to use a CPAP machine. When I was evaluated at the sleep clinic, I was measured to have 85 episodes an hour - very severe. This explained all my headaches, daytime drowsiness, and irritability.

I don't consider myself overweight so this wasn't contributor.

[Azxster]

I am pretty confident you have sleep apnea based on your description. You need to spend a night at a sleep clinic to do a sleep study where they put like 16 electrodes on you to measure everything. I know of one in Markham (Woodbine-Steeles Sleep Clinic) or you can ask your family doctor to refer you to one.

[ZenOps]

Sleep on your back
Trim your nose hairs
Shower late and clear nostrils
Exercise

[aimfox]

Sleep in your best comfortable position.

When sleeping, do not think of anything. Or drink a cup of milk before going to sleep. Try some inhaling drug that makes your nostrils breath easily.

[Mui_Mui]

Based on your description, it sounds like you have SLEEP APNEA.

Basically what happens is you stop breathing for periods of time while you're asleep, which would account for your gasping of air upon awakening. There's not much you can do about it until you get it assessed by an ENT physician (ears, nose, throat doctor) and do a sleep study like others mentioned.

What you can try doing for now is sleeping on your side, because if you sleep on your back the soft tissue in your throat can collapse while you're sleeping and obstruct your airway causing you to stop breathing.

If your sleep apnea is really severe, you may need a CPAP like another poster mentioned. This is a continuous positive airway pressure that ensures you get enough oxygen while you're sleeping to help you breathe and to keep your airway open.

Hope this helps!

[sxz]

Try these: http://www.breatheright.com/

[MrDisco]

If your sleep apnea is really severe, you may need a CPAP like another poster mentioned.

The specialist may decide to operate and remove the adenoid glands as a first step (the punching bag at the back of your throad). be warned though: the recovery is quite painful!

Try these: http://www.breatheright.com/

Read harder:

My condition has improved slightly after using the Breathe-Right nasal strips but I am still not getting the full 7-8 hours of rest I need.