Self-help treatment for sleep apnea

• Minor sleep apnea is responsive to self-help remedies, or “behavioral treatments.”
  
  Some of the following self-help treatments for sleep apnea may work for you.
  
• Lose weight. Overweight individuals who lose even 10% of their weight can reduce sleep apnea during the night and dramatically improve the quality of their sleep.
  
• Eliminate the use of alcohol, tobacco, and sedatives such as sleeping pills. Avoiding the use of alcohol, tobacco, and sleeping pills can reduce the likelihood of airway closure during the night.
  
• Sleep on your side. People who experience sleep apnea only when they sleep on their backs can benefit from special pillows or folk remedies that encourage side-sleeping, such as the “tennis ball trick” (putting a tennis ball under you to make back-sleeping uncomfortable).
  
• Regularize your sleep hours. Irregular sleep hours can throw off your sleep cycles and lead to breathing problems during the most important sleep stages.
  
  Stabilizing bedtime hours and eliminating disturbances to your sleep can reduce sleep apnea.