Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Does propping your head up help with your sleep apnea?

I used to sleep on my stomach before I had my back problems back in the 80’s. I know that I slept better; at least that's how I remembered it. Then I flattened a disc in my lower back and I found that the only way I could sleep was on my back. It was strange at first because my neck was strained in the morning. I guess it was because my neck was used to laying a certain way at night. Of course this wasn't very good for my sleep apnea.

A few years later I was diagnosed with acid reflux. I have written a post on acid reflux earlier. Having this condition really affected the way I slept. I used to have just one pillow under my head but with the acid reflux my head and neck had to be elevated to keep the acid coming up into my throat. Even with the pillows and medication for the acid reflux it is still a problem.

Of course with sleep apnea the best way to sleep with sleep apnea is to tilt your head back and your chin should be pointing upward. This presents a problem because with acid reflux your head is propped up not back so the acid doesn’t come up the esophagus. It is a bit of a dilemma at least for me.

I have also read that certain pillows, like travel pillows that are shaped like a horseshoe, can be helpful with sleep apnea, although I have never tried one.

Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS feed
Thanks

No comments:

Post a Comment