Snoring and Sleep Apnea - A New Epidemic?
Sleep Apnea PillowSnoring falls under the category of Sleep Disorders. Sleep disorders are more common than previously thought, and a large number remain undiagnosed. They range from the common such as snoring and sleep apnea to the rare and unusual such as narcolepsy.
The similarity amongst the more common conditions is a fault or weakness in the airways resulting in the body's inability to get air to the lungs. This unfortunately has dangerous ramifications to us all. The everyday motorist/driver feeling fatigued before even stepping into his car, or if you are a professional responsible for the performance of procedures or a manual worker responsible for the operation of machinery, all of you have the potential to cause harm to yourself and innocent bystanders.
Snoring affects five out of every hundred of us, yes 5%. It is linked to high blood pressure. And just as disturbing it is responsible for stress in our relationships as the partner abandons ship and grabbing the pillow head for the other bedroom (or a better neighborhood!).
Sleep apnea is a condition where the body intermittently ceases breathing during the sleep period causing a jolt into wakefulness. These individuals are rarely even aware of their problem and it is usually brought to their attention by their frightened partners. It of course leads to a reduced quality of sleep. It affects four out of every hundred, or 4%. Sleep apnea is linked to increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is also under investigation as a possible cause of mature people dying in their sleep.
What can we do? Well, ensure that you have a firm (not hard) bed that gives good support for your body. Invest in a quality pillow, such as a contoured one, realizing that it can take a week or two to get used to the pillow as well as a new supportive bed.
There are exercises that can make a marked difference to opening up the air passages thus allowing a good and healthy night's sleep. Here is a little one to begin practicing with. This simple exercise helps to open up your throat, and removes one of the most common reasons for snoring: a tense jaw.
Begin by putting your upper and lower molars together, very lightly. Now open your mouth as wide apart as you can, without stretching. Repeat this ten to twenty times. Make sure you only focus on your molars. All that matters is putting the molars together and then lowering your jaw... like hinges on a door, for about 20 times in a row. After about 5 to 10 times you should feel your jaw muscles strengthening and the back of your mouth opening up. This is the weak tissue that you are contracting, which you feel opening up your airways.
The muscles you now feel contracting in the back of your throat are one of the main problem areas in your snoring. This is but one of 24 different exercises that work to open the airways by strengthening weak and inactive muscles.
David Morton is a Doctor of Chiropractic with over 30 years clinical experience. He wishes to share his expertise in this field. He offers a range of self help programs [http://betterspines.com/helpful_stuff] His website betterspines.com offers simple ways to increase flexibility [http://betterspines.com/stretching_exercises_catalog] and improve overall health and fitness.