It’s safe to say that each of us has a different limit to how much we can tolerate other people’s annoying behaviour. It doesn’t make it wrong, and it doesn’t make it unreasonable, so long as you keep your rage mentally locked away and aren’t rude. We’re entitled to having our pet peeves.
It’s one thing when strangers or friends irk us. We can slip away, shrug it off or ignore it. It’s a whole other ballgame when your loved one is keeping you awake at night with their sleep apnea.
You may think you’re stuck with having first row seats to your partner’s rendition of an operatic warthog fight but luckily there are ways to cope with their snoring.
How to Deal With Your Partner’s Sleep Apnea
The first thing you should do is look inward. Waking up randomly may be frustrating but lashing out won’t get you anywhere. Understand that it’s not intentional. Also keep in mind that adding on to their stress won’t help.
The second thing you should do is improve your surroundings. See if there’s a humidifier handy in case the sleep apnea is linked to sinus or allergy problems. Another good tip is to keep your partner sleeping on their side as opposed to their back.
Try having your partner eat healthy food. Nutritious meals will help the issue if things like blood pressure are a symptom. Additionally certain foods will help them sleep better by containing things like tryptophan and melatonin.
Lastly, if you smoke you may want to consider stopping for a while. The smoke itself is obviously bad around someone who has a respiratory issue.
Team Effort
Your partner is as frustrated as you are but until some definitive action is taken, you’ll both keep losing sleep. Unless you’re a doctor, you’re going to probably want an informed opinion. You’ll need to lend your full support to your partner as they try to improve.
At first these efforts may involve some nasal sprays and other light medications. Depending on the severity it can go many places from there. For example, in most cases the doctor will assign a CPAP machine to your significant other.
Short for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, this device does exactly what it sounds like. Air is constantly being pumped in. It can be a little noisy and the masks can be quite uncomfortable so your partner will need all the support and understanding they can get.
The last option like the few before it is out of your hands as well. If a CPAP machine and medications don’t alleviate the snoring and intermittent sleeping, your partner may need surgery.
All for one, one for all
This is one of those cases where you’ll have to settle with doing as much as you can and then supporting whatever decisions your specialist recommends. Just remember, as much as this bothers you, your partner is suffering as well and probably feeling guilty about it.
If you live in the Houston area and you suffer from debilitating snoring or think you may have sleep apnea, we can help. Contact us today for more information.
