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The National Sleep Foundation indicates that more than 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a disorder that affects respiratory function while sleeping. Men are more likely to suffer from this disease than women, particularly African-American or Hispanic men. Sleep apnea may be caused by blocked or narrowed airways in your throat, mouth, and nose. It could also happen as your brain is not able to transmit the signals to breathing muscles. Besides, there are some other causes leading to sleep apnea including old-aged (over 60), excess smoking, nasal congestion, sedatives or tranquilizers, family history, regular consumption of alcohol, heart diseases, obesity, narrow throat, or thick neck circumference.
This disease leads an individual to have brief pauses in breathing or shallow breathing while sleeping. The interruptions may repeatedly occur at night and each pause can prolong from 15 to 20 seconds. Other symptoms are headaches on waking up, insomnia, episodes of breathing cessation in sleeping time, dry mouth, loud snoring, waking up gasping for breath, poor sleep quality and excess daytime drowsiness. If left untreated, sleep apnea can negatively affect our health by increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension. This article describes 16 natural home remedies for sleep apnea in toddlers and adults.
Top 16 Natural Home Remedies For Sleep Apnea In Toddlers & Adults
Following are 16 best natural treatments that are helpful for treating sleep apnea at home.
1. Throat Exercises
The main reason of sleep apnea is the blocked or narrowed airways in your throat, mouth and nose. Therefore, throat exercises are the best home remedies for sleep apnea because they not only may strengthen your muscles but also reduce snoring and promote a sound sleep during nighttime. Following are three suggested throat exercises for you at home:
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a. Playing Didgeridoo
Playing the didgeridoo can strengthen and tone the tissues of your throat. Moreover, it also provides a good exercise for your respiratory system and a meditation aid. Dr. Rubin Naiman indicated that it is encouraged that all patients who are suffering from snoring and sleep apnea conditions should learn to do this exercise because it is the practical and effective strategy to manage the symptoms associated with sleep problems.
If you just blow through a pipe, you won’t cure the sleep apnea.
You should make a special breathing technique named “circular breathing”, which means that you breathe in through the nose whilst you expel air out of your mouth using your tongue and cheeks.
USA National Institutes of Health recommends that you should practice the didgeridoo 20-30 minutes in almost six days per week to reduce the moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and simultaneously improve the partners’ sleep quality. Magically, the severity of disease, which is expressed by apnea-hypopnea index, can be also substantially decreased after four months of playing didgeridoo.
b. Saying “Ah”
It is known that repeatedly pronouncing an oral vowel, particularly the “ah” sound that you can utilize at the doctor's office, can be one effective throat exercise (in the May 2009 study). Here is the instruction for you.
- Firstly, you pronounce the vowel with a list of short bursts
- Next, you repeat this sound with longer tones.
- The exercise can work your uvula, tongue, and various muscles of the palate since you push that sound through your throat.
- Remember to do this exercise in three minutes daily.
c. Balloon Breathing
According to Helpguide.org, which is a non-profit educational wellness site, you should breathe in order to inflate a balloon, which enables to strengthen your throat muscles and reduce your sleep apnea afterward. Here is the instruction for you:
- First, you take a balloon and place the lips around its opening.
- Then, you breathe in through the nose
- Next, you blow into that balloon. You should inflate that balloon as much as possible with your exhale
- Afterward, you breathe in to release the air.
- Repeat this exercise five times without leaving the balloon from the mouth. You can stop doing this when you start to feel lightheaded.
2. Lose Weight
It is assumed that the excessive body weight may cause snoring, which is not always true because even the thin people still snore. However, if you get started to snore after you gain weight, you should lose some pounds. A new study proves that losing weight may significantly improve and even potentially eliminate the obstructive sleep apnea symptoms found in the obese people. Moreover, some researchers describe that people with the severe obstructive sleep apnea that have lost the recommended weight tend to completely relieve sleep apnea three times more likely than people who do not lose weight. Researcher Gary Foster, who is the director of Center for Obesity Research and Education in Temple University, says that “These results show that doctors, as well as patients, can expect a significant improvement in their sleep apnea with weight loss”. Losing weight without a doubt is an effective home remedy for sleep apnea. You are recommended to take regular exercises combining with a healthy diet so as to treat your disease faster.
See more: Top 32 Best Natural Home Remedies For Weight Loss Fast
3. Honey
Honey acts as one of the great home remedies for sleep apnea because of its anti-inflammatory properties, which can lessen swelling in the throat and then decrease the airways’ obstruction. Additionally, honey might lubricate your throat in order to avoid snoring that is the common symptom as you are suffering from sleep apnea disease. Moreover, drinking honey not only promotes relaxation while sleeping but also maintains your healthy body weight and prevents obesity because as mentioned above, losing weight is considered as the essential step so as to treat sleep apnea.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of warm water
- 1 tsp of honey
Direction:
- First, you mix the honey with the warm water
- Then, you consume the mixture at night time before you sleep
- Remember to repeat this treatment once per day at night
4. Peppermint
Peppermint is another excellent treatment to decrease airway blockages because of its anti-inflammatory effect that may lessen the inflammation, ease and soothe breathing and prevent snoring during sleep time. Consequently, gargling with peppermint oil becomes one of the great home remedies for sleep apnea.
Ingredient:
- 1 glass of water
- 2-3 drops of peppermint oil
Direction:
- First, you mix the ingredients well
- Then, you gargle with this mixture before sleeping
- Remember to repeat the remedy once a day at night
5. Honey & Peppermint
Both honey and peppermint hold anti-inflammation properties, which relieve inflammation to promote easiness of breathing and sleep. Therefore, you can mix the two ingredients to create peppermint tea, which can treat your sleep apnea at home.
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp of peppermint leaves
- 1 cup of hot water
- Some honey
Direction:
- First, you add the peppermint leaves into the hot water
- Next, cover it and let it steep in 10 minutes
- Then, you strain the tea
- After that, you need to add some honey into the tea and stir well
- Last, you consume the peppermint tea as it is warm
- Do the treatment twice daily
6. Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is extracted mostly from lavender flowers, primarily through steam distillation. It can ease the pain, eliminate nervous tension, improve blood circulation, disinfect the skin and scalp, and treat respiratory problems. Thanks to the relaxing, soothing and sedative effects, lavender oil helps to reduce the obstruction present in your throat and aid you in enjoying more qualified sleep.
Process 1:
Ingredients:
- 1 tub of hot water
- A few drops of lavender oil
Direction:
- Firstly, you need to add the lavender oil into hot water and stir well
- Next, you inhale that mixture before sleeping at night
- Do the treatment once a day at night
Process 2:
Ingredients:
- 1 tissue
- A few drops of lavender oil
Direction:
- Firstly, you place the oil onto the tissue
- Then, you tuck the tissue under your pillow before you sleep
- Repeat the solution once a day at night
Process 3:
Ingredients:
- 1 diffuser
- A few drops of lavender oil
Direction:
- You only need to add the oil onto the diffuser
- Then, you place the diffuser in your bedroom before sleeping at night
See more: Top 18 Best Natural Home Remedies For Snoring Relief At Night
7. Honey & Lavender Buds
Lavender buds are chockfull of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. The combination of honey and lavender buds amazingly creates a great treatment for sleep apnea.
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp of honey
- 1 cup of hot water
- 2 tsp of lavender buds (dried)
Direction:
- Firstly, you place the dried lavender buds in the hot water
- Next, you cover it and let it steep for around 5-10 minutes
- Then, you need to strain it
- After that, you add the honey to the liquid and stir well
- It is time to consume the tea
- Do the treatment 2-3 times per day to get the best results
8. Garlic
Garlic has anti-inflammation effect that may reduce the inflammation in respiratory system and make you breathe more easily during sleep. Moreover, garlic enables to treat snoring and alleviate the enlarged tonsils. It is possible for you to add garlic in the daily food or use garlic supplements. Before using them, you are advised to ask the doctor to know the suitable dosage.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of water
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
Direction:
- Firstly, in the morning, you consume the prepared garlic on your empty stomach
- After that, you drink the water
- Do the treatment once per day in the morning so that you can ease the inflammation and irritation associated with sleep apnea.
9. Turmeric, Honey & Milk
The combination of turmeric powder, honey, and warm milk might be one of the great home remedies for sleep apnea at home. While turmeric has an anti-inflammatory effect that may lessen the inflammation found in your respiratory system, milk contains amino acid tryptophan that enables to promote sleep. Therefore, the mixture of turmeric, honey, and milk will aid you in breathing more freely and having a sound sleep at night.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of milk
- 1 tsp. of turmeric powder
- 1 tsp of honey
Direction:
- Firstly, you add the turmeric powder in the milk and mix well
- After that, you boil this mixture
- Let it stay on the low flame for some minutes
- Next, you remove that from the heat
- Then, you add the honey inside the boiled mixture and stir well
- Around 30 minutes before you sleep, you consume that solution
- Do the treatment once per day at night so as to relieve the symptoms caused by sleep apnea
10. Almonds
Almond is a great treatment for sleep apnea because it is rich in magnesium that probably promotes your muscle relaxation and then bring a sound sleep back to you. Moreover, almonds may aid in regulating the body’s internal clock. There are two ways to apply almonds for sleep apnea.
Process 1:
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of water
- A little almond butter
Direction:
- Firstly, you eat the almond butter
- Then, you drink the water
- Remember to apply this treatment 1 hour before you sleep
- Do this treatment once per day
Process 2:
Ingredient:
- 1 handful of the roasted almonds or the soaked almonds
Direction:
- You simply eat the roasted almonds or the soaked almonds
- Do this remedy once daily
11. Bananas
Because of its serotonin, melatonin and magnesium that may make you calm down and then relax your muscles and your nerves, bananas are regarded as one of the tasty sleeping pills and enable to create a sound sleep. Therefore, banana is one of the good natural home remedies for sleep apnea.
Ingredient:
- 1 banana
Direction:
- You simply consume the banana daily
- Do this way twice daily
By way of conclusion, sleep apnea is among the common disease and it can be worse if you treat it ineffectively. Luckily, it can be cured safely and effectively thanks to those above-mentioned natural treatments. It is an honor for Effective Remedies to provide you 16 natural solutions in order to help you relieve from irritating symptoms associated with sleep apnea. Be aware that this article is only informational, not for medical or educational purposes. Thus, it is highly recommended that you consult the doctor for advice prior to utilizing any above mentioned treatment in case you may get allergic or sensitive. If you possess any other useful natural remedies for sleep apnea or have any questions or comments, you can freely leave them below and we will respond as soon as possible. Last but not least, I sincerely hope these natural home remedies for sleep apnea somehow can help you to relieve your sleep problem. To get more information about effective natural remedies for other health problems, go to our Home Remedies page.
References:
- http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea/signs
- http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Sleep-apnoea/Pages/Treatment.aspx
- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/sleep-apnea.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3110415/
