Can Adjustable Beds Help Your Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when a person is asleep and is caused by a blockage of the air passages in the nose, throat, and chest. The most common side effect of sleep apnea is snoring. This occurs when the air passages become restricted to the point that even shallow inhalations and exhalations cause them to vibrate. Sleep apnea can be frightening because it is something that occurs while you are unconscious and is therefore uncontrollable. The best way to prevent sleep apnea is to sleep in a position that helps your respiratory system work easily. For this reason, doctors recommend sleeping upright to take pressure off your chest and make it easier to breathe at night.
It is recommended that people with sleep apnea use a device that helps them sleep in a semi-upright position to allow adequate breathing throughout the night. For years, doctors generally recommended that people use pillows to prop themselves up in bed. However, this presents a problem for most sleepers, because the pillows tend to deflate or shift during the night. As a result, a semi-upright position is almost impossible to maintain at night. The sleeper returns to a nearly flat position in a short time, causing the air passages to constrict and the side effects of sleep apnea to occur.
Adjustable beds will be very useful for people who suffer from sleep apnea. Adjustable beds allow the head to be elevated. This prevents the tongue from falling back and blocking the airway. Once this situation is prevented, the person’s sleep will no longer be interrupted. Adjustable beds naturally readjust the airway so that the patient begins to sleep well at night.
Those who are overweight also suffer from this sleep disorder. Due to its weight, the body is more prone to narrowing of the airways and painful pressure points on the body. The neck of an overweight person also suffers. When there is a lot of fat around the neck, the tissues cause the airways to narrow. This is the reason why overweight people snore loudly at night. Even if the person is still overweight, adjustable beds can help. These beds hold the body in a comfortable position where the tongue will no longer fall back and cause interruptions in breathing.
The most important thing you get with an adjustable bed is the ability to sleep at a fixed angle throughout the night. This redistributes body weight throughout the body, relieving the upper torso of the pressure that normally causes sleep apnea. Sleeping in a semi-upright position also helps prevent the formation of acid reflux and other GERD symptoms. These new beds can also be used with a memory foam mattress to provide superior support for the hips, lower back and shoulders. Such additional support is ideal for people who also suffer from arthritis pain. Sleeping in an upright, fully supported position relieves joints of the stress that causes morning stiffness, muscle tension, and arthritic pain.
Getting a full night’s rest is essential to being energetic, revitalized, and productive the next day. Adjustable beds are a great investment for you to ensure that you will have a complete rest. With an electric adjustable bed, all adjustments can be made with a remote control. With the different models of adjustable beds, you can choose portable, lighter or that hug the wall to save space. There are also adjustable beds that come with massages to relax the body after a very tiring day.