Being diagnosed with sleep apnea can raise a lot of questions, particularly if you’ve been prescribed CPAP therapy and are finding it difficult to tolerate. Some people adjust well to CPAP, while others notice discomfort, disrupted sleep, or a sense that it simply isn’t the right fit for them.
If you’re struggling with CPAP use, you may find yourself wondering whether there are other ways to address sleep apnea or improve sleep quality. This article explores some of the physical and breathing-related factors that can contribute to sleep disruption and that can be corrected, and why these are sometimes overlooked when treatment focuses only on nighttime equipment.
Sleep difficulties rarely have a single cause. Physical factors such as airway structure, breathing patterns, and mouth breathing can interact with stress, burnout, and overall health. When sleep concerns are raised with a physician, a sleep study is often recommended to better understand what is happening in the body during sleep, but alternative to CPAP are not explored.
Sleep problems often have physical causes that can be corrected
Many of my clients share that they struggle with sleep during the course of our work together. As I puzzle through how to help them, I’ve learned that sleep problems often arise from multiple factors, making it essential to consider the physical causes of poor sleep rather than jumping straight to CPAP.
When you complain about sleep difficulties, your physician will often arrange for you to have a sleep test. These tests can range from a simple device you wear on your finger overnight to a comprehensive in-lab study with multiple sensors and wires, costing around $1,000.
In my experience, the majority of people who complete a sleep study are diagnosed with sleep apnea and sold CPAP.
What happens after a sleep study
How sleep apnea is diagnosed
After your sleep study, you will meet with a physician employed by the sleep clinic and may be prescribed a CPAP machine, which typically costs about $1,000. Masks, hoses, and cleaning supplies are additional expenses. Many patients feel pressured to purchase these devices because they’ve been told they stop breathing at night.
Why CPAP Is often the default recommendation
A CPAP machine forces air into your body while you sleep. While this can be effective for some people, it does not address how you breathe during the day. In other words, it only meets your breathing needs for roughly 8 of 24 hours.
Why many people struggle with CPAP therapy
To me, being hooked up to a CPAP machine feels like wearing scuba gear to bed. Some people do stick with it and eventually adapt. The average period required to acclimate is around four months.
However, the vast majority of people dislike CPAP therapy and stop using the device due to discomfort, inconvenience, or poorer sleep quality while wearing it.
An alternative approach: improving how you breathe
There is another route you can pursue to address sleep apnea and breathing difficulties naturally: improving how you breathe.
This approach focuses on retraining breathing patterns rather than mechanically forcing air into the body. One type of professional who supports this work is a myofunctional therapist.
A myofunctional therapist assesses how you use your lips and tongue and whether your airway is being adequately supported.
Mouth breathing and sleep apnea
How common mouth breathing really is
You may be told you are a mouth breather. If you are, you may be asked to sleep with a small piece of paper tape across your lips, perform daily exercises using a balloon to strengthen breathing muscles, do simple tongue and lip exercises (often with popsicle sticks), and sleep on your left side—the “rest and digest” position that supports breathing.
Mouth breathing is far more common than people realize, and most people do not recognize it in themselves.
I personally said, “No, I breathe through my nose,” but after beginning this work, my therapist told me I was, in fact, a mouth breather.
How to tell If you’re a mouth breather
Pay attention to how you speak. If your lips do not come together at regular intervals so that you can inhale through your nose, you are likely a mouth breather.
Try reading aloud. Notice whether you pause to inhale through your nose or breathe through your mouth. If it’s the latter, you are likely a mouth breather.
Training nose breathing during sleep
Some breathing experts recommend placing a piece of paper tape over the mouth during sleep to encourage nose breathing. This should not be attempted with children or without professional guidance.
Many adults quietly use paper tape at night to improve sleep quality. You can experiment with different brands, as some are gentler and easier to remove than others.
Before applying the tape, clamp your lips together firmly and roll them slightly inward to ensure the mouth is fully closed.
You can practice wearing the tape while awake—for example, while reading or watching television—to become more comfortable.
You can also practice removing the tape safely by pressing your tongue against it and pushing outward, allowing it to release without using your hands.
With consistent use, this can become a natural part of your bedtime routine and support improved nasal breathing.
Tongue position, tongue-tie, and sleep quality
Check your tongue position. Is your tongue naturally suctioned to the roof of your mouth?
If you’re thinking, “What???,” then you may be a mouth breather.
Most people’s tongues rest suctioned against the roof of the mouth, which supports nasal breathing and airway stability.
If you cannot curl your tongue into a taco shape, it may indicate that your tongue and lip posture are not supporting optimal breathing. This can negatively affect sleep quality and overall health.
Signs you may have a tongue-tie
If you cannot suction your tongue to the roof of your mouth, hold your tongue in a taco shape, or run the tip of your tongue smoothly along the outside of your teeth, you may have a tongue-tie.
A tongue-tie occurs when the tongue is attached to the bottom of the mouth by a tight band of fibers behind the lower teeth. This can restrict tongue mobility, impair nasal breathing, and even affect digestion because of how it alters swallowing and breathing patterns.
Tongue-ties are often identified in infants with difficulty nursing and are routinely released early in life.
Adults can also have tongue-ties released in a brief dental procedure that typically takes under three minutes.
Over the past two years, six of my clients were chronic mouth breathers. Four of them had tongue-ties. All six had been prescribed CPAP machines.
Can breathing therapy help sleep apnea?
Many people are told they must use a CPAP machine for the rest of their lives. While this is common advice, it is not always the only option.
Breathing-based therapy can retrain breathing patterns and improve sleep apnea outcomes—even in moderate to severe cases, particularly when CPAP has been difficult to tolerate.
One exercise commonly used to support breathing and sleep apnea is blowing up three balloons per day, using new balloons to increase resistance. This is done alongside other daily breathing exercises to prevent regression to old habits.
Getting help for sleep apnea without CPAP
If this post resonates with you, consider consulting a qualified professional who specializes in breathing and airway function.
I wrote this after more than two years of searching for effective solutions for sleep apnea and breathing difficulties.
Finding the right support may take effort, but prioritizing sleep health is worth it. Keep searching until you find a solution that works for you.
Better sleep is possible, and help is available.
Related articles
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- Explore practical, clinically-based strategies to improve sleep, including routines and behaviors that support better rest.
- Learn about the relationship between burnout and sleep difficulties, including how exhaustion affects sleep patterns and recovery.
- Some people notice that when exhaustion and poor sleep persist, they begin relying on alcohol to cope or unwind. Explore this pattern and its relationship to burnout and fatigue.
Considering next steps
Sleep apnea and disrupted breathing can interfere with deep, restorative sleep and may complicate recovery from burnout and chronic exhaustion. In my clinical work, I often see how unresolved sleep difficulties slow burnout recovery.
If you’re navigating burnout or prolonged fatigue and noticing persistent sleep problems, you can learn more about how I work with professionals experiencing burnout and exhaustion.