If you think you have sleep apnea and are waiting for a referral/appt....

what are some easy, temporary ways to sleep better? I have found one recommendation for sleeping on your side because apparently sleeping on your back makes it more likely that your airway will close up. Other ideas?

My wife works in a sleep clinic that treats sleep apnea. The one issue with sleeping on your side is that you may still roll on to your back once you’re out. She has told patients with this problem to sew or duct tape a ball (tennis ball, golf ball, etc.) into the neck area of their sleep shirt to make it uncomfortable to sleep on your back so you don’t unconsciously do it. Wedging pillows in strategic places may do it too to prevent a rollover. Other suggestions are, don’t drink alcohol or eat right before bed, which can make it worse. Sleeping at a more elevated angle will help too. Creating a wedge with pillows make work, or place several bricks under the headboard/ frame to so you are sleeping at an angle.

Thanks for the tips. I was considering finding a way to keep from rolling over. The pillows didn’t work. I guess I moved them in my sleep. So what I’m considering now is rolling up a comforter tightly and putting it under the sheet so it can’t move and there’s effectively a “wall” at my back.

This is crazy, I know, but I’m looking for a non-medical option until the sleep study. Thanks again.

For some people one of these will work:

http://www.splintek.com/ph/sleepright.html

It keeps the mouth open just enough to prevent the airway from closing. If you think the problem is in your nostrils rather than the back of your throat this won’t work.

The easiest way to execute the ball trick is to put said ball (I’ve heard tennis works best) in a sock and then just safety-pin the sock to the back of your shirt.

You’ll still find a way to turn over otherwise. (FTR I haven’t tried this myself, but my parents both use this method. Mom’s apnea and Dad’s fat neck snoring would have caused a family fallout years ago)