Steps to improve your overall sleep quality should be personalized with help from your healthcare team. That’s especially important if you’re taking medicines for heart failure or using devices for breathing support. Consider the expert recommendations below as a starting point.
1. Adjust Diuretic Timing to Curb Nighttime Bathroom Trips
Table of Contents
- 1. Adjust Diuretic Timing to Curb Nighttime Bathroom Trips
- 2. Follow Your Heart Failure Treatment Plan to Limit Swelling
- 3. Treat Sleep Apnea if You Have It
- 4. Elevate Your Upper Body if You Feel Breathless Lying Flat
- 5. Address Neuropathy Symptoms That Wake You Up
- 6. Practice Smart Sleep Habits That Complement Medical Care
“Decreasing fluid consumption and taking diuretics earlier in the day will help minimize trips to the bathroom at night to urinate, which should protect sleep,” says Finet.
2. Follow Your Heart Failure Treatment Plan to Limit Swelling
3. Treat Sleep Apnea if You Have It
A large proportion of people with ATTR-CM have sleep-disordered breathing. So, healthcare providers should screen for OSA when a person has daytime sleepiness, frequent nighttime urination, or witnessed apneas (an event in which breathing is interrupted), says Finet.
“Therapies to manage sleep apnea such as CPAP and BiPAP machines [can] be of tremendous help in improving sleep,” says Finet.
4. Elevate Your Upper Body if You Feel Breathless Lying Flat
5. Address Neuropathy Symptoms That Wake You Up
6. Practice Smart Sleep Habits That Complement Medical Care
- Exercise regularly.
- Go to bed and get up around the same time every day.
- Avoid caffeine or heavy meals before bedtime.
- Limit alcohol if you drink it.
- Don’t smoke.
