This week the (Daily) Telegraph printed an article on alternative medical treatments for numerous medical conditions, including Sleep Apnoea, which really spelled it out for me. It dealt more specifically with some of those treatments where there are doubts about their usefulness or even worse, their safety.

The section of the article that covered obstructive sleep apnoea, stated rightly that stentorian snoring and chronic exhaustion were the two main effects and these can have a big impact on lifestyle – even down to the loss of a driving licence sometimes.

Of course, they rightly say, that surgery to the back of the throat is an option but very few people are keen on this – understandably – and therefore opt instead for a CPAP device which involves wearing a face mask device all night through which air is pumped in a steady stream to keep the airways open – the main root of the problem.

The Telegraph referred to some very recent Danish Medical Research on using CPAP as a treatment for Sleep Apnoea and the outcome just astounded me. The Medical Researchers actually tried the CPAP device themselves with the following quotes describing the results being published in the BMJ – The British Medical Journal:

“When it started it blew me up like a balloon.”
“It was very unpleasant and after a while my throat dried out.”
“Wanted to turn it down but I got lost in the 100 page manual.”

This last comment prompted some real scrutiny of the manual for an answer and they were very dismayed to find buried in the text a warning that there was no guarantee that the CPAP device might not be lethal. The Sleep Clinic from where they’d borrowed the device told The researchers that they were not surprised – only two of the 35 patients that had tried it were able to tolerate it for one reason or another. A search on the Internet re-enforced these views thoroughly for me.

So where do we go from here? Sleep Apnoea is a really common problem in our society today. Perhaps it’s down to modern lifestyle.
If you are a serial drinker or smoker, perhaps on medication, obese, or you have suffered damage to your nervous system at some point, you may well suffer from this condition.

When we sleep at night, we need air into the lungs to ensure that the rest of our body functions correctly but if this is blocked in any manner what-so-ever, it will interfere with the natural breathing process between the brain, lungs and heart. A simple mouthpiece, as offered by sleepPro, can help a great deal.

Check it out with your medical or dental surgery because they’ll advise you on the right device to help open the airways. And perhaps some lifestyle advice too!

Sleep Apnoea can be easily treated – and safely too.

I suppose the most obvious was where Michael Masden really upset all the housemates on Celebrity Big Brother 2012 with his incredibly loud snoring live on TV. I nearly had to turn down the volume. I think that little episode hit the front page of every newspaper and magazine in the UK – and a few others I guess.

And let’s not forget the back pages. In the sports section, China’s leading tennis player, Li Na, hit the headlines in Oz. Having made a good comeback to beat Caroline Wozniacki in the Australian Open she said she was playing better than she had in more recent tournaments, having not won much since her first Grand Slam title in France in the Spring. Li’s husband apparently travels with her as her business manager and has given her constant sleepless nights with his incredibly loud snoring. Threatened with divorce – he has headed off in search of a cure. She’s sleeping well in his absence.

In this day and age we obviously have to go viral – we cannot miss out on the internet. One of the biggest stories last week was how a newly born baby reacted – and how – to her father’s snoring. The baby’s face went into a shocked and startled expression, and the smile didn’t return until Dad went quiet. Over 150,00 hits in a week and it’s still going strong.

Some papers also announced that we’re going to have another ‘Stop Snoring Week’ in 2012 because the last few have been so successful.

It’s April 23^rd-27^th if you want to make a note.

Mostly it was the ‘Redtops’ that covered this story. Why? Well, a survey of almost 2000 respondents found out (yet again) that snoring is causing damage to lots of relationships across the UK; 75% of UK couples are spending nights in separate rooms at some time or other, causing embarrassment and distance between partners.

So it’s not just bad for your health, snoring is bad for your relationships too. The Media in fact have managed to blame a whole list of things on snoring recently; spoiled holidays, missed flights, marriage break-ups, failed sexual relationships and a great deal more too.

Maybe snoring’s not so funny after all.

By John Redfearn