Oftentimes a simple humidifier can help with the dryness and irritation caused by using a CPAP machine when treating your sleep apnea. With the constant airflow, many people suffer from dry skin and irritation from using the CPAP machine. A humidifier or special facial moisturizers can help to ease these symptoms.

Did you know there are exercises that you can do to reduce your sleep apnea? Throat exercises are a great way to reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea. Try pressing the tongue against the floor of your mouth. Use a toothbrush to brush the tongues tops and sides. Repeat this exercise three times a day for five repetitions.

To relive sleep apnea symptoms, play a wind instrument such as the flute or clarinet. Research conducted in Germany has shown that you can greatly strengthen the muscles of your upper airway by taking up an instrument like the didgeridoo. These muscles are responsible for dilating your airway and causing the walls of the airway to stiffen. Because weaknesses in these muscles can cause apnea, playing regularly may actually help you sleep better at night.

Make a sleep schedule and keep to it. By sleeping at regular intervals and times, your body gets used to a pattern and takes advantage of it. If you are not getting quality sleep on a regular basis, your sleep apnea may worsen. Make sure to go to bed at a similar time every day and try to sleep a fixed amount of hours.

Improve your sleep apnea by slimming down a bit. Recent research showed dramatic improvements in overweight men who shed 25 pounds over a period of one year to reduce sleep apnea symptoms. In some cases, the weight loss resulted in a cure of sleep apnea where no further treatment of the condition was necessary.

Keeping up to date on new trends in the medical community can be very advantageous to sleep apnea patients. The American Sleep Apnea Association has a patient website that offers a wealth of information on issues related to the disorder, online support group forums and effective treatment options. You can find the website at http://www.sleepapnea.org.

You should know that using a CPAP machine can cause certain side effects, including snoring, congestion, irritation or dryness in your mouth and airways. If this occurs, you should go to your doctor and make sure you are using your machine properly. Consider using a different mask or a different machine.

You need to have patience when you realize you have sleep apnea. Various treatment regimens and choices are effective for certain individuals, but not necessarily all. Losing weight will help minimize symptoms in many patients, but sleep apnea can occur in very thin individuals as well as those who are overweight. Although surgery may be required to relieve your sleep apnea, many non-surgical options are available. Even the simplest surgery carries some risk, so it is best to consider surgery as a last option. Working with your doctor to identify the best approach for your apnea issues will increase your opportunity to live a healthy and well-rested life.

If you are a smoker, this may be making your sleep apnea more severe. When you smoke a cigarette, the airways in your nose become swollen, restricting the amount of air that you can breathe. Quit smoking if you can. If you can't give it up entirely, don't smoke in the evenings before bed.

Do throat and tongue exercises daily to reduce your apnea symptoms. The results of recent research suggest that jaw exercise, and tongue exercises can greatly reduce the presence of sleep apnea symptoms. Doing just a few of these exercises every day can help you get a good night of rest.

If you are unsure whether or not you have sleep apnea, consider setting up an audio or video recorder next to your bed. When you review the recording, watch or listen for choking, gasping or other signs that you are not getting enough air as you sleep. Present your findings to your doctor if you suspect that you do have apnea.

If you think that you may have sleep apnea, set up a video of yourself as you sleep. Just be sure that the ALS YouTube Explainer Video recorder has sound capability. When you wake up, look at the ALS YouTube Explainer Video, and if it seems like something other than snoring is going on, it may be time to go to the doctor.

If you are trying to sleep on your side to avoid problems with sleep apnea, one way to do ensure you stay on your side is to put hard round object in your clothes. This will help you to stay on your side throughout an entire night's sleep and avoid apnea.

If you think that you may have sleep apnea, set up a video of yourself as you sleep. Just be sure that the video recorder has sound capability. When you wake up, look at the ALS YouTube Explainer Video, and if it seems like something other than snoring is going on, it may be time to go to the doctor.

Keep a regular sleeping schedule to lessen the symptoms of sleep apnea. Your regular sleeping patterns already suffer due to your condition. Any steps you take to improve your overall sleep habits will help deal with the symptoms of your condition and minimize the impact it has. The adjustment that is most important is your sleep schedule.