Snoring and Sleep Apnoea
Snoring and Sleep Apnoea
Are you or your spouse troubled by snoring or sleep apnoea?
Having a good night sleep has becoming a luxury for many people. If you or your spouse, or someone you know who is troubled by snoring or sleep apnoea, none of you are alone. Depending on your geographic location, there could be a snorer in every two people, with a men-to-women snoring ratio of 2:1. Most of them don’t realize, until their spouse told them. And about 1 in every 15 Americans experience Sleep Apnoea. Snoring and sleep apnoea is a widely spread sleeping disorder.
Not only snoring is troubling and can cause tension between couples or other people who share a room with you, but it also accompanies many health problems. Most obvious would be a dry mouth and dry throat when waking up; poor night sleep, which lead to sleepiness and poor concentration during day time, either at school or at work. Sleep apnoea could result hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases.
Snoring in Children
Snoring used to be thought to only happen in elderly people, but that is not the case; many children nowadays may also experience snoring problems.
Habitual snoring affects about 11 percent to 12 percent of all children between the ages of 1 through 9
– Dr. David Gozal, Professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville
Snoring in young children will contribute to the development of crooked teeth, malocclusion, and unattractive lower jaw facial development, more at here.
If the snoring becomes severe and develop into sleep apnoea, then more issues may arise:
- Bedwetting
- Social isolation when share room or tent with other children
- Cardiovascular problems
- Obesity
- Slower growth and development
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), influence learning
Cause of Snoring and Sleep Apnoea
In general, snoring can be categorized into two categories. Snoring can be caused from the nasal airway, or from the back of our throat. When snoring is caused by our nasal airway, it is likely due to an obstructed nasal airway, which is how the snoring sound is generated; a strong airflow trying to pass through a narrow passage. Obstructed nasal airways can be due to a stuffy nose from sinus infection, or allergy during the hay fever season; could also be caused by deviated septum or nasal polyps. When the snoring sound comes from the throat, then it is because the the is being compressed, leaving very little room for the air to flow through. This is often due to large tonsil, bulky throat tissue, long soft palate and uvula, or lack of muscle support for the tongue. Alcohol consumption, some sleeping pills, muscle aging, and overweight are all factors that can aggravate the issue.
Sleep apnoea is when your breathing is paused during sleep, leading to a drop in blood oxygen level which forces your body to wake up for a deep breathe. This wake up is usually very brief that many people actually don’t realize.
Traditional Solutions
Depending on which field of medical professionals you consult about your snoring or sleep apnoea problem, you would get a different response. But in general, you are likely to get one of the following 3 solutions:
- Wearing a mouthpiece at night during sleep
- Using a CPAP machine at night during sleep
- Having a surgery
If you feel perfectly comfortable with wearing a mouthpiece or CPAP at night during sleep, or having a surgery, I’m sure you wouldn’t have clicked into this page. So yes, here’s how Buteyko Breathing Technique could help you alleviate or eliminate your sleeping disorder.
(Move the mouse over the video, a play button should show up)
If you, or someone you know, who is currently hesitating to have a surgery performed, I highly advise you to give yourself, or that person you know, another chance before doing surgery.
No surgery can guarantee a 100% success. Many people think surgery for snoring or sleep apnoea is a one time quick solution. Just do it once and you are good for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee. In fact, many people who undergo sleep apnoea surgery, find the problem come back to them as short as just couple weeks after the surgery.
Unlike using a mouthpiece or CPAP, once a surgery is done, there is no going back.
The following audio is a 1 hour interview by Dr. Steven Park with Buteyko Breathing Educator Patrick McKeown on Buteyko Breathing for sleep apnoea.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where repeated upper airway obstruction during sleep leads to a decease in blood oxygen saturation and disrupted sleep. Current treatment options include oral appliances, surgery, and/or the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. However, breathing retraining with the Buteyko Institute Method (BIM) is a safe, effective and conveneient approach to OSA that could help eliminate the need for surgery or CPAP.