Sleep Apnea: Home Treatment

Content provided by Healthwise

Home Treatment

You can treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) at home if you have mild sleep apnea (5 or fewer apnea episodes per hour). Home treatment for sleep apnea includes:

• Losing weight. Many people who have sleep apnea are overweight. Small studies have indicated that losing weight reduces the number of times an hour that you stop breathing (apnea) or that the airflow to your lungs is reduced (hypopnea).⁶ Experts agree that weight loss should be part of managing sleep apnea.⁶
• Limiting the use of alcohol and medicine. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or taking certain medicines, especially sleeping pills or sedatives, before sleep may make symptoms worse. Also, taking Viagra (sildenafil) shortly before sleeping may make sleep apnea worse.⁴
• Getting plenty of sleep. Apnea episodes may be more frequent when you have not had enough sleep.
• Sleeping on your side. Try this: Sew a pocket in the middle of the back of your pajama top, put a tennis ball into the pocket, and stitch it closed. This will help keep you from sleeping on your back. Sleeping on your side may eliminate mild sleep apnea.⁷ You can try using a special pillow (called a cervical pillow) when you sleep. A cervical pillow can help your head stay in a position that reduces sleep apnea.

If you are using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help you breathe, use it every night. If you don't use it all night, every night, your symptoms will return right away.

Last updated:	July 13, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Jan Ulfberg, MD, PhD - Sleep Disorders
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC