Living with Sleep Apnea
By combining treatment and healthy lifestyle habits, you can transform your daily life. Explore our tips to regain restorative sleep and more energy.
You may not be able to change the shape of your face, jaw or airways, but there are many things you can do to help reduce your sleep apnea.
What you can control
Practical tips for everyday life
Sleep on your side (instead of on your back)
Why it helps: Sleeping on your back encourages soft tissues in the throat to relax, which can worsen airway obstruction in people with sleep apnea.
How to do it: Try using a positioning pillow or a positional belt to keep yourself from rolling onto your back. Some people also find a body pillow helpful.
A simple change in sleeping position can greatly reduce nighttime apneas, especially in people with positional sleep apnea.
Choose lighter dinners and avoid alcohol before bed
Why it helps: Heavy meals and alcohol can relax throat muscles and slow digestion, increasing the risk of airway obstruction during sleep.
How to do it: Avoid eating 2–3 hours before bedtime. Choose lighter, fibre-rich meals with limited saturated fat. Alcohol should be limited, especially in the evening.
Easier digestion and clearer airways support deeper, less disrupted sleep.
Stay active on a regular basis
Why it helps: Exercise helps maintain a healthy weight, improves muscle tone (including in the throat) and reduces inflammation. All of these can help decrease the severity of sleep apnea.
How to do it: Aim for at least 30 minutes of movement per day—brisk walking, cycling, yoga or swimming. Even moderate activity has a positive impact.
Moving your body every day, even a little, can improve nighttime breathing and boost your daytime energy.
You’re not alone on this journey
Our respiratory therapists are here to guide you, adjust your device and optimize your comfort.
At La Boîte à CPAP, we offer personalized support at every step. Together, we’ll find the solutions best suited to your daily life.
Book an appointmentWhy these changes matter
Lifestyle changes are not only beneficial for sleep apnea. They are also especially important for people living with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure or depressive symptoms — conditions that are present in more than 30% of sleep apnea cases.
All of these chronic conditions can be positively influenced by better lifestyle habits: balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management and quality sleep. Choosing these changes means choosing to take care of your overall health.
HEALTH & VITALITY
At the heart of Naturopathy
Naturopathy brings together a wide range of therapeutic approaches designed to preserve health, improve quality of life, and support the body’s natural healing process. It can also be used as a complementary therapy alongside CPAP treatment.
We are pleased to announce that Catherine Ouellet, our nutrition advisor, is available to guide you in your health journey.
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