10 Side Effects of the CPAP Machine

The CPAP machine will help with your apnea. Unfortunately it is not the most comfortable thing in the world. Here are 10 symptoms to expect and what to do about them.

1. Claustrophobia - Having the mask on will probably be uncomfortable, especially initially. Use it as much as you can bear to begin with, but try to increase the duration each night. It can help to challenge, and maybe even reward yourself if you make it through the night

Don't use straps that are too tight. Use it while awake, in the hours before bedtime to get used to the sensations. Anti-anxiety drugs may help if things get unbearable - ask your doctor if this option is for you.

2. Blocked nose or irritation - The CPAP machine air is very dry. The air may cause a response in the delicate nasal areas, often a dripping nose, sneezing, blockages or stinging. You might also have occasional bleeding from the nose. Humidification of the air, which your machine may be able to do can help with these symptoms. If your machine doesn't have this feature, find one that does.

3. A mask that fits poorly or loses pressure - There are masks in all sorts of shapes, from full face to nostrils only; many come in different sizes as well. Try a range of masks until you find the best one for you. The CPAP helps with your symptoms but isn't a cure; you may need to wear the mask every night for a long time. Find one that fits properly

Facial hair like beards and moustaches along and dirty oily skin may stop the seal from being properly air tight. Take care of your face and the mask and the performance may well improve.

4. No improvements - It can be disheartening when the CPAP machine interrupts your night. Try to remember the positive aspects of the treatment, consider keeping a diary nad record if headaches lessen or you feel less tired in the morning. Goals or personal competitions can help to keep the mask on. If the sleep apnea is not improving after a period of months consult your health professional

5. Unable to nose breath - Sleep apnea is relieved by pressure to the throat behind the nose. If you can't breath through your nose than it may not be effective. Surgery may be needed if there is an underlying problem with your nasal passages. Over the counter medication to help with flu symptoms may also be effective. There are a range of full face masks that may be more suited to you

6. Pressure and headaches - You need to allow the pressure from the machine to escape from your bodies cavities. Normally air will go through the ear, however if you have a cold or flu the blockage may prevent this. Use of the machine may need to be halted until the symptoms clear

7. Bloating - You should not experience an excess of air in your stomach while using the machine. Flatten your sleeping alignment so that air is not blocked in the throat. Use only 1 pillow. The pressure may also be set too high

8. Noise - Older models can have a distinct humming or vibration. Keep the machine as far away from you as physically possible if it's disturbing. Newer models are much quieter

9. Interfering with the tube - Knocking or tangling the cords and tubes can be one of the most annoying problems. The more you use the CPAP machine the better you will get at sleeping with it. Use blankets to keep obstructions away from you and position the machine where it will be more difficult to hit.

10. Removing the mask at night - Don't remove the mask during the sleeping hours. Disconnect the apparatus from the machine. If you leave the mask on for these night tasks you will probably start using it again.

Why Do I Sweat When I Sleep? 4 Causes

If you are waking up drenched from head to toe, then you will want to know why do I sweat when I sleep? Apart from the obvious - sleeping somewhere too warm or having too many bedclothes, there are many reasons why this can happen. Normally people sweat out around half a pint of water overnight, but if you are being awoken with your bedding or clothing drenched through, then you may need to visit your doctor to find out the cause.

Certain Infections

Bacterial infections are a common cause of this problem. The most commonly known of these is tuberculosis, but others can also be the reason. Infections such as endocarditis or HIV can be a cause. Any infection which causes abscesses, such as tonsillitis or diverticulitis could also be an underlying cause. It is possible when an infection is in its early stages for it to be undiagnosed, and the early symptoms could be a reason for your question 'why do I sweat when I sleep?' However, with infections, other symptoms will eventually start to occur as well.

Menopause

All women go through the menopause at around the age of their late forties to early fifties - although this can vary considerably in individuals. Sadly, hot flushes are a symptom of the menopause, and when these happen at night time could be a reason for your night sweats. They can precede the onset of the menopause and also carry on afterwards for many years. There are many natural remedies to help women through the menopause and also hormone replacement therapy for those who suffer badly.

Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis

This is the name given for a chronic condition where the body habitually produces too much sweat. As of yet the medical world has not come up with a reason why this happens.

Cancer

Certain cancers, such as lymphoma, can have night sweats as a symptom. However, most cancers also have other symptoms as well such as rapid weight loss.

If the problem becomes too severe then you will need to see your doctor to find out the answer to your question 'why do I sweat when I sleep?'

How To Avoid Leg Cramps While Sleeping Or When Waking Up

About Leg Cramps

A leg cramp means an acute pain which usually originates from a muscle in the leg. It takes place when a muscle contracts too hard. Leg cramps usually occur in one of the calf muscles, below and behind the knee. The small muscles of the feet are sometimes affected.

A regular leg cramp pain can last from a few seconds to several minutes. Besides, the intensity of the pain varies according to each one's case. But, the damage in the muscles provoked by the cramp may remain up to 24 hours. In most cases, leg cramps occur when you are resting especially while sleeping or when you wake up. If not given the necessary attention, it can become a distressing problem which can disturb your regular sleep.

Causes of Leg Cramps

Leg cramps are mainly caused by a contraction of an already shortened muscle. So, contracting the leg further may cause the muscle to go into spasm. It happens frequently during sleep. The regular sleep position, we rest with the knees slightly flexed, and with feet pointing slightly downwards. So, the tension by shortening the calf muscle makes it susceptible to cramps. This theory explains why maintaining a correct posture could avoid this problem and stretching exercises may relieve the pain.

Relieving Leg Cramps

When you have a leg cramp, the first things you should do to relieve the pain is to:

o Walk on the wounded leg

o Massage the muscle gently

o Maintain your leg straight and flex it toward your knee until you feel the calf muscles stretch

o Put some ice on the affected muscle

For most people, these tips would be very effective for relieving leg cramps. In some rare cases, these tips don't work and the pain becomes uncontrollable. In this situation medical help is recommended.

Avoiding leg cramps

The most important thing you should do to avoid leg cramps is to prevent them. So, the first step to take is to maintain a correct posture of the legs during sleep. You should try a pillow that keeps your leg correctly aligned depending on the way you prefer to sleep. If you sleep on your back, you should maintain your feet in a higher level than the bed. If you sleep on your side you should use a pillow to maintain your legs slightly apart, so the leg you're lying on doesn't receive all the pressure of the other one's weight.

Nowadays, many doctors recommend using orthopedic pillows because they are especially designed to maintain a correct position of the leg and feet. By doing so, you will be able to live free of pain when you wake up and you will get up with a much better mood for a new day.

What's the Best Way to Sleep?

My patients usually ask me -"What is the best way to sleep?" to which I always answer: "Well, what position do you sleep in?" The reason for this reply is that just be modifying a couple of things here and there, you can get a restful and comfortable night's rest no matter what position you actually sleep in.

Back Sleepers

Yes, this is actually the preferred position to sleep because it places the least amount of stress to your spine-IF you:

Place a cervical roll or rolled-up towel under your neck. Make sure that your head is in a neutral position (that you are neither looking up or down). If you find that you cannot be "in neutral" then you need a smaller roll.

Place a pillow under your knees-This takes stress off
of your lower back. You could buy a special pillow for this, but a
regular pillow works just fine.

Side Sleepers

-If you sleep on your side, then follow these tips to minimize the
amount of stress to your spine.

Use a cervical pillow-Ideally, the pillow should take into account how wide your shoulders are-the wider your shoulders, the taller the pillow should be. This is because you want to keep your neck in a neutral position.Place a pillow between your knees. Not only will this feel more comfortable, if you have hip joint pain-this definitely helps.Try not to sleep on your side with your arm up over your head-this causes stress on the nerves that come out of the neck and into the arms and cause tingling or numbness down the arms.

Sleep on your Belly-

This position places the most stress on your neck.
In this position you have your head turned to one side or the other for hours at a time. This is quite stressful to your neck muscles and joints.

Your body will try to shift your position to compensate. This is why people who toss and turn the most are belly sleepers.

To sleep more comfortably(belly sleepers):

Place a pillow under your waist, and do not use a pillow for your head.

Remember that there are other variables that will affect the quality of your sleep, like the condition and firmness of your mattress. If your mattress is too old it will sag and not provide enough support.

Avoid super-soft mattresses-they may feel comfortable at the
beginning, but in the mornings, the lack of support will make you feel sore. Your mattress should be firm, but not hard to provide the adequate support.

As with anything, if any of these recommendations cause you increased pain, consult your chiropractor-there may be other factors present that should be checked by a professional.

Sweet Dreams!

Anti-Snoring Ring - Do They Work?

If you are reading this article the chances are you a snorer, or someone you sleep with is and you are looking for a simple safe affordable solution. Does the anti-snore ring fit the bill? Well in this article I will explain the contributing factors you need to address as well as a review of anti-snore rings,what they are and how they work, so you can decide for yourself if they are worth bothering with.

Other factors
The simple fact is as with most health issues life style plays an important part and this is just the same with snoring.
Overweight- One of the many problems of being overweight is after a while you build small fatty deposits around the throat area reducing your airways and dramatically increasing your chances of snoring,
Alcohol- Alcohol relaxes the muscles around the throat causing a sagging effect closing the air passage making breathing more laboured causing the dreaded snores
Smoking- Smoking reduces your breathing capacity and also irritates the lining of the throat vastly increasing the chances of chronic snoring

Anti-snore ring

What are they?
The anti-snore ring is a metal band that fits on the small finger (or on both if you are a really heavy snorer) between the knuckle and the first joint.
Inside the band are two small bumps that apply a light constant pressure.
You can purchase a snore ring for around or a little cheaper on-line. They should be worn for about 30 minutes before bed and when you are asleep

How do they work?
They are supposed to work by a method called acupressure which is a ancient healing method discovered in Asia about 5000 years ago.
Basically the two bumps inside the ring put pressure on certain energy lines in the body that stimulate the heart and lungs improving breathing.

Do anti-snoring rings actually work?
This is quite hard to gauge as they may have a placebo effect on some of the wearers To be honest, most feedback I've read has been negative, seeing little or no effect at all, but at around it could be worth a go as most reputable dealers will offer you a 30 day money back guarantee

Why Is The Prescription Drug Trazodone Used For Insomnia?

Despite the fact that there are many natural ways to deal with insomnia, millions of people continue to take a variety of over-the-counter and prescriptions drugs whenever they find that they're having sleep problems. One such prescription drug is Trazodone.

Trazodone (or Trazodone hydrochloride) is the generic name for the drug Desyrel® which is an anti-depressant which is commonly prescribed for major depressive disorders and is also sometimes used to deal with insomnia. The problem however is that the two have become dissociated and, while it is one thing to choose to prescribe Trazodone for a depressive disorder with associated insomnia, it is quite another to use the drug simply to treat insomnia in isolation.

Trazodone works in part by inhibiting the re-uptake or serotonin, which is a chemical produced naturally by the body and which plays an important role is regulating the sleep cycle. Put in simple terms, Trazodone increases the level of serotonin in the body which acts as the body's natural sleeping pill.

Now on the surface it would seem perfectly natural to use a drug that increases the body's own natural sleep aid to cure insomnia.

There is however a problem with using Trazodone and that is the side effects.

Side effects will clearly vary from one individual to the next but, in general, the common side effects of Trazodone are sleepiness (in this case a desired side effect), headache, congestion, stomach upset, constipation, nervousness, muscle pain, sweating, blurred vision and so the list goes on. In addition, in some men it can cause a painful and long-lasting erection, which may require emergency or even surgical treatment, with permanent damage often resulting.

In fairness the list of side effects for most drugs, including communal garden day-to-day drugs, can be frighteningly long and the truth of the matter is that most people don't suffer any of the side effects, or at least don't suffer them to any degree that matters. In the case of Trazodone however this is not the case when it is used to treat insomnia.

For most people Trazodone works wonderfully well in the very short-term and will certainly help them to fall asleep and also to stay asleep through the night, enjoying, in particular, a greater degree of deep sleep. It is the following morning however when the side effects tend to set in.

In many cases this means a congested nose, feelings of tiredness and grogginess (often being described as akin to a hangover) and, in some cases, a degree of unsteadiness.

Insomnia is a common problem which affects many millions of people both in the short-term as occasional or transitory insomnia and in the long-term as chronic insomnia. In most cases however drugs will only ever provide a very short-term solution and the longer-term use of drugs will invariably make matters worse, rather than better.

This said, if you do feel the need to turn to drugs in the short-term to help with the symptoms of insomnia, then choose a drug that is designed specifically for sleep problems and not Trazodone which should only ever be used to treat insomnia when that insomnia is part and parcel of a major depressive disorder.

Over The Counter Insomnia Sleeping Pills And Their Long Term Side Effects

Various over the counter insomnia sleeping pills are available in pharmacies. These are the not the ideal remedy for insomnia. They can come with various side effects, specially long term effects on your body and mind. Here are various reasons why you should try to avoid taking them:

> Your body develops tolerance to these pills , thereby you need more and more to have the same effect as before.

> When you stop taking insomnia sleeping pills, your body may experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

> They may not produce a restful sleep.

> Sleeping pills may have a lingering effect and may even cause daytime-drowsiness.

> When medicine is discontinued, there may be possibility for the insomnia to return.

> Sleeping pills can cause or worsen other health conditions.

> You should be careful while taking them if you are taking allergy medicines, muscle relaxants, anesthetics, heart medications etc.

> Sleeping pills should also be avoided during initial stages pregnancy.

> Sleeping pills are not suitable to be given to anyone under the age of 18. Hence they cannot be used to treat

> These over the counter sleeping pills are addictive. You can observe that a lot of people get addicted to them.

> They may do very little or absolutely nothing in cases of chronic insomnia.

> Overdosing on sleeping pill can be dangerous. If you doubt whether someone has an overdose of sleeping pill, read about its symptoms here: Symptoms of overdosing on sleeping pill.

> They do not improve day-time functioning, that indicates that the quality of sleep by taking sleeping pills can be very bad.

> Insomnia pills may interfere with other drugs you are taking and change their reaction.

> Sleeping pills may be less effective if a person has been suffering from insomnia from a long time.

> It is not effective as a long-term cure for insomnia.

> They should not be taken without consulting a qualified doctor first. Even the doctors should prescribe pills as a last resort.

>The prescriptions for insomnia can mask the real causes of poor sleep .

>Some other side effects of sleeping pills include possibility of high blood pressure, bizarre behaviour etc.

Natural sleep is best. A natural good night's sleep is physically restorative and can help in improving our memory and moods. Instead of taking sleeping pills, a better option would be to find out about the cause of your insomnia (like stress, tension etc.) and try to remove it.

However if you do have to take some kind of medicine necessarily then its better to opt for natural and herbal medicines or homemade sleeping pills which are not addictive and may not have serious side-effects when compared to over the counter insomnia sleeping pills available in the market.

What Causes Insomnia? 5 Reasons You Can Not Sleep at Night

In order to successfully treat symptoms of sleeping disorders it is necessary to understand the reason behind each individuals inability to sleep. This article lists the 5 most common causes of insomnia, and outlines the appropriate resolution for each cause.

Cause #1 - Food And Drink

Food and drink, particularly during the evening hours, can have a profound effect on the ability of an individual to fall asleep at night. Common reasons include eating foods with large amounts of either proteins (for example meats) or processed sugars (cakes, candy bars) later in the day. Conversely, carbohydrate-rich foods in moderation at night can often aid sound sleep. These often contain 'tryptophan' a substance which triggers the brain to produce sleep-inducing chemicals. Drinks containing caffeine such as coffee and some sodas can have a profound effect on your ability to fall asleep, these should be avoided late in the day where possible.

Cause #2 - Exercise And Lifestyle Choices

Healthy lifestyle choices and regular exercise are great methods of assuring yourself a successful nights rest. However, it is possible that exercise can have the opposite effect - if this is too close to your bed-time. Exercising actually releases stimulating brain chemicals which may prevent sleep onset. Ensuring that you complete any exercise 3 hours before bed will avoid any issues.

Cause #3 - Your Sleeping Environment

This is a complex area and potentially involves many interacting factors including temperature, noise and the comfort of your bedding. A common cause of insomnia symptoms is not having enough natural space to twist and turn in the night. Blocks or objects in your bed can cause disruption to the natural sleeping cycle that can have lasting effects into the next day. The ideal sleeping environment is cool, dark, quiet and has comfortable bedding and pillows.

Cause #4 - The Contrary Effects Of Alcohol

Alcohol is actually a sedative, this will relax you and is considered an aid to falling asleep at night. However, this substance has a negative overall effect and can actually be a common cause of reported sleep disorders. The reason is that the sleep you get after drinking alcohol is of lower quality than without. This can leave you tired the next day, which leads to compensatory behaviors including higher caffeine intake and napping. Both of these then lead to sleeping problems - starting a 'vicious circle' of behavior which is detrimental to quality sleep.

Cause #5 - Anxiety, Stress And Worry

Financial, family and work worries can often lead to sleeping problems. The effects of this can work in various ways, leading to stress symptoms which change your brain-chemistry or just leading to a 'busy mind' at night which stops you falling asleep. The main treatment of these psychologically induced insomnia symptoms is to address the underlying causes. Where this is not immediately possible then keeping a notepad by your bed side and jotting down those worries can go a long way towards helping.

Stop Breathing While You Sleep? You May Have Sleep Apnea

If your spouse notices that you stop breathing for more than 10 seconds more than 10 times an hour during sleep, you may have sleep apnea. Many overweight people suffer from sleep apnea and have difficulty staying awake during the day because stopping breathing interferes with deep sleep, causing them to wake up tired each morning. A report in Archives of Internal Medicine shows that obese people are at high risk for suffering from daytime sleepiness, even when they do not have sleep apnea.

If your doctor suspects sleep apnea, he will probably refer you to a sleep specialist. Most of the time, you will be diagnosed as having sleep apnea. Since there are no effective drugs, you will usually be given a special CPAP machine. Some people adapt easily to the CPAP machine and benefit from it, but others find it uncomfortable and cannot sleep with it on.

There are two types of sleep apnea: in one, the airway is obstructed, in the other, a person just stops breathing with no obstruction and is usually overweight. Therefore, if you have sleep apnea and are overweight, you should get on a diet and start an exercise program to lose weight, the most effective treatment for sleep apnea. People who have obstructive sleep apnea should be treated for their asthma or nasal obstruction. If you snore loudly, check with you doctor to see if you need cortisone nasal sprays or antibiotics. If you feel sleepy during the day, the most effective treatment is a nap. Some people with asthma do not have respiratory obstruction; they just stop breathing and are normal. They may have been incorrectly diagnosed as having sleep apnea because normal people stop breathing for up to 10 seconds up to 10 times a night.

However, if you suffer daytime sleepiness, inability to stay asleep at night or stop breathing for more than 10 seconds more than 10 times a night, you may be cured by taking naps for between 30 and 60 minutes each afternoon or whenever you have an overwhelming feeling of tiredness.

For journal references on this article see the More Health section of my web site (below.)