What are the top 5 things i can do to reduce or eliminate my sleep apnea?

There isn’t a universal set of five proven ways to eliminate sleep apnea; the most important first step is to confirm whether you have it and get treatment matched to its severity.

1. Get evaluated: If you snore, gasp or have breathing interruptions, wake unrefreshed, or feel sleepy during the day, talk with a doctor about testing. Testing can include an in-home sleep test or an overnight study; don’t just buy a CPAP, since its settings need to be determined for you. 1 2
2. Use prescribed treatment when indicated: CPAP is a common, potentially effective treatment, especially for significant apnea; a clinician should guide whether it’s appropriate and how to set it. 3 4
3. If you have excess weight, consider weight loss: The guest identifies weight loss as a first-line approach for people with excess weight and says it may help apnea. 5
4. Avoid sleeping on your back: Back-sleeping can make airway collapse and breathing pauses more likely. Side-sleeping or training yourself not to roll onto your back may help; the source describes a tennis ball in a back pocket as one positional method. 6 7
5. Work on nasal breathing, but don’t treat mouth taping as a substitute for care: Nasal breathing practice during lower-intensity exercise is described as one way to build the habit. The transcripts also discuss mouth taping, but recommend medical evaluation for suspected apnea and CPAP assessment for severe cases—so don’t rely on taping alone. 8 9

Sleep apnea can be serious, so suspected apnea warrants medical assessment rather than trying to self-treat it. 10