Sleep apnoea--Continue.

• Inserts. If you breathe primarily through your nose, you might be able to use what are called nasal 'pillows' (flexible inserts that fit inside your nostrils) instead of a full-face mask.
• Profile. If you wear glasses and tend to fall asleep while reading or watching television in bed, consider buying a 'low profile' mask that rides lower on your nose and doesn't interfere with your vision. That way you won't forget to put on your mask before falling asleep.

                                            SNORE NO MORE: TIPS THAT WORK

It's easy to laugh at Dagwood Burnstead's sonourous snore in the comic strip Blondie. But snoring-which occurs when the soft tissues of your upper airways vibrate--isn't so funny in real life, especially for unfortunate partners who may find themselves wearing ear plugs or sleeping in another room. When you consider that the loudest recorded snore clocked in at 87 decibels--nearly as loud as a motorcycle--it's easy to see why people are desperate for solutions.
 Most of the treatments for apnoea--weight loss or CPAP, for example--also work for snoring. Here are some of the best ways to turn down the volume:

• Stay off your back. It's estimated that 60% of snorers snore only--or most often--when they sleep on their backs.
• Drop a few kilos. Obesity is a common cause of snoring because excess fat accumulates (and then vibrates) in the neck and throat.
• Add an extra pillow. Raising your head slightly opens up your airways.
• Use nasal strips. Sold in pharmacies, the strips (such as Breathe Right) hold your nostrils open and help prevent snoring.
• Ask about splints. Doctors sometimes advise snorers to wear a device called a mandibular advancement splint that looks like a mouth guard. It keeps the lower jaw from falling backwards during sleep, which in turns stops your tongue from blocking the flow of air. A study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reports that patients who used the splints had a 65% decrease in snoring.

Procedures

Other types of surgery may be required if you have a deformity of your lower jaw or a nasal obstruction such as polyps or a deviated septum (see on previous). Finally, if you are severly obese, your doctor may recommend gastric banding or bypass surgery to help you lose weight (see on previous).

PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS

• An experimental drug, dubbed SR46349B, may offer hope for treating sleep apnoea as well as the subsequent morning-after fatigue. Preliminary studies suggest that the drug reduces snoring and also increases the amount of time that people spend in deep, restorative sleep. It's thought to work by boosting levels of serotonin, a neuro-transmitter that ferries brain signals to the throat. There's some evidence that it reduces airway obstructions as well.

Medications

Only a few drugs are effective in relieving apnoea symptoms. Because some of them can have serious side effects, always use such medications under your doctor's supervision.

• Amitriptyline. This antidepressant (Endep, Trptanol) can increase tension in your throat tissues and help keep them from sagging downwards when you sleep. The drug also reduces the amount of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep--the stage when the majority of apnoea episodes occur.
• Steroid nasal sprays. These are typically used for sinusitis, but can help reduce the inflammation and congestion that may contribute to apnoea.
• Decongestants. Good for relieving snoring and minor breathing difficulties due to mucus-cloagged sinuses, decongestants (Sudafed, Sinex) should be used only for a few days at a time. Be aware some brands contain antihistimes, which can have sedating properties, making your breathing problems worse.

Natural methods

Recently more and more patients (and sometimes their doctors) have turned to herbs and other alternative treatments for relieving dozens of medical conditions--but apnoea isn't one of them. The potential health risks from apnoea are so serious, in fact, that doctors advise everyone to use only mainstream treatments.