Sleep Apnea Treatment Doctors Swear By—Including Natural Remedies That Really Work
Plus discover the sneaky symptoms you might be missing
Key Takeaways
- Nearly 30 million Americans have sleep apnea, but many miss the subtle warning signs
- CPAP therapy is still the gold standard sleep apnea treatment doctors recommend most
- Simple lifestyle changes like walking and singing can ease symptoms naturally
Nearly 30 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—and many don’t even know it. If you’ve been waking up exhausted or dealing with unexplained headaches, your body might be trying to tell you something. Understanding the sneaky symptoms of sleep apnea and the best treatment options could protect your long-term health.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.”It’s a partial or complete blockage of your upper airway by your tongue, soft palate or uvula during sleep,” adds Brandon R. Peters, MD, a neurologist, sleep physician and author of The Sleep Apnea Hypothesis. Someone with sleep apnea may stop breathing for 10 seconds or more at a time, several times per hour, causing oxygen levels in the blood to drop.
There are two main types: Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a physical blockage of the airway, explains Swetha Gogineni, MD, a pulmonology, critical care and sleep physician from UCLA Health’s Santa Monica Pulmonary Sleep Clinic. In central sleep apnea, the brain doesn’t send the signal telling the body to breathe, leading to pauses in breathing.
Woman's World Answers
Sleep apnea symptoms that are easy to miss
Common—and sometimes subtle—symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Loud snoring
- Abrupt awakenings with gasping or choking
- Morning headaches: Dr. Peters says when the airway is blocked, oxygen levels drop, which can cause head pain
- Daytime sleepiness
- Frequent trips to the bathroom: Blocked airways can also force kidneys to work harder
- Night sweats
- Heart palpitations: The stress hormone cortisol released to wake you up when breathing stops can make your heart race
- Leg cramps
- Heartburn
“Sleep apnea can have profound impacts on our daytime functioning,” notes Dr. Gogineni. “It can lead to us feeling tired and affect our concentration, memory development and general wellbeing. Additionally, moderate to severe sleep apnea has been associated with various health conditions including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, strokes and mood disorders.”
Getting tested for sleep apnea is easier than you think
“A home sleep apnea test is a very simple device that you can arrange to use through your doctor,” Dr. Peters says. “It measures nasal airflow, effort to breathe, oxygen levels and pulse rate.” In some cases, your doctor may recommend a sleep study.
Audrey Wells, MD, sleep medicine advisor at CPAP.com and board-certified sleep and obesity medicine physician, urges people not to delay sleep apnea treatment. “If this were a condition that dropped someone’s blood oxygen levels and caused a disruption in brain function during wakefulness, people would be going to the emergency room. But because it happens during sleep, there’s this blind spot.”
The number one sleep apnea treatment
The most-recommended treatment for sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. You have several options depending on your needs—your doctor can prescribe the best option for you. “CPAP therapy and other PAP therapies are the gold standard for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea,” Dr. Wells confirms. A CPAP machine delivers a steady stream of gentle air pressure to keep your airway open while you sleep.
Natural sleep apnea treatment options
Several lifestyle changes can also help manage sleep apnea symptoms naturally.
Swap your sleep position
“Positional therapy is huge,” Valerie Cacho, MD, says. “Up to 77 percent of sleep apnea can be positionally dependent.” Using a wedge pillow or sleeping on your side can make a real difference.
Move a little more
Exercise matters too. A study in the journal Sleep found that people with sleep apnea who got 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (that’s about 22 minutes per day) significantly lowered their apnea-hypopnea index, a measure of sleep apnea severity.
Shed extra pounds
Losing weight is an especially impactful natural treatment for sleep apnea. Researchers found that a 10 percent weight loss led to a 26 percent reduction in that same index, according to a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Sing a song
Even singing can help strengthen upper airway muscles, Dr. Cacho notes. A study in the International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery found that 20 minutes of singing exercises each day significantly improved snoring and sleepiness.
The bottom line on sleep apnea treatment
“For most people, natural remedies mean improvement, not resolution,” Dr. Peters cautions. That means they’re typically best used in conjunction with a CPAP device or whatever other more intensive sleep apnea treatment your doctor may recommend, such as customized oral appliances or a nerve stimulator. Talk to your doctor to find the right combination of treatments for you.
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