Snoring and Sleep Apnoea

WHAT IS SNORING? WHAT IS SLEEP APNOEA? WHAT IS THE LINK TO THE WAY YOU BREATHE?
We all know snoring as that irritating noise that disturbs the sleep of the bed partner, family members and other hotel guests. But snoring is far more than just a bad noise. It is linked to many health complications including:

  • morning headache and congestion
  • fatigue, heart disease and high blood pressure
  • the much more serious condition –  sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea is where you stop breathing temporarily during sleep for periods that can be as long as a minute – even more. (‘Apnoea’ or ‘apnea’ means ‘without breath’.)  Sleep apnoea is associated with greater risk of:

  • high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular disease
  • anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s
  • cancer, diabetes, gastro-oesophageal reflux
  • having a car accident, and
  • in children, of learning and behavioural disorders including ADHD.
Treatment Options
Treatment options for snoring and sleep apnoea include nose and throat surgery, nasal medications, sleeping with a CPAP appliance and mask,  using a dental appliance, and breathing retraining to address the dysfunctional breathing habits. This last option is fundamental but not often considered from a ‘conventional’ point of view.

The link with the way you breathe

FAULTY BREATHING HABITS ARE CHARACTERISTIC IN SNORING AND SLEEP APNOEA
The link with your breathing pattern:
Snoring and sleep apnoea – it’s not just your weight, face, jaw and airway structure playing a part! 

It is important to know that snoring and sleep apnoea are unlikely to occur in people with a normal breathing pattern. Both awake and asleep, people who snore and have sleep apnoea do not breathe correctly. Research shows that they characteristically  ‘overbreathe’ – breathe too fast and/or too much air each breath – and this can cause or influence the common signs and symptoms.

Breathing Pattern - Sleep Apnoea vs Normal

 In a study by Radwan1, (1995) the average minute volume (amount of air breathed per minute) for OSA (obstructive sleep apnoea) sufferers when they were awake was 15 L per minute (normal is 4-6 L per minute) and the average speed they inhaled the air (inspiratory airflow rate) was 620 mls/sec (normal is 280mls/sec). That is, the people with OSA were found to be habitually breathing a greater volume of air than normal, and to be taking it in faster than normal. Having an overbreathing habit when awake would carry over as the pattern during sleep.
 1. Radwan L et al, “Control of breathing in obstructive sleep apnoea and in patients with the overlap syndrome”, J. Eur Respir J. Vol 8, 1995, 542–545 
A high inspiratory airflow rate  in people with OSA may cause or influence: 
  • dehydration, swelling and congestion in the airway
  • vibration of the tissues in the throat (the snoring noise)
  • creating a suction force on the airways sufficient to reduce or obstruct breathing (OSA) – is like sucking too hard on a paper straw
  •  high volume exhalation which may drop carbon dioxide levels sufficient for the brain to temporarily stop sending the signal to breathe (central sleep apnoea – CSA).
     
    Knowing the effects of high-volume high-speed breathing, explains why sleep apnoea may also be found in slim men and women, and in children, even though the risk factors of excess fat around the neck or abdomen are not present.

    Ultimately, the volume of air you habitually breathe (day and night), is a factor in whether you snore or not.

    More information and scientific references on this topic are contained in Chapter 6 of Relief from Snoring and Sleep Apnoea (Tess Graham, Penguin Random House 2012)
 
                      Treatment of heavy snoring and sleep apnoea is vitally important. *(See note)

Surgery, medications, splints, and CPAP are not always complete solutions. Through breathing retraining you can change the way you breathe. It is a complementary approach.

* NOTE

If you have not already been medically diagnosed with sleep apnoea and suspect after reading this information that you do have it, go and see your doctor. Significant sleep apnoea is a very serious condition and needs to be addressed without delay. 

Relief through breathing retraining

REDUCE TRAUMA, VIBRATION AND SUCTION ON YOUR AIRWAY WITH BETTER BREATHING
Breathing retraining addresses an underlying cause of snoring and sleep apnoea – the baseline overbreathing pattern that is characteristic in people who snore and have sleep apnoea, and which is known to cause, influence, and/or perpetuate snoring and sleep apnoea.  Through breathing retraining you can change the way you breathe during the day – to slow, silent, light, nasal breathing, which resets the ‘drive to breathe’ centre in your brain, to deliver quieter, softer, more regular breathing at night, and experience restful sleep again. 
Breathing retraining helps you identify and undo your often unconscious faulty (‘dysfunctional’) breathing habits and get you back to gentle and regular, nose-diaphragm breathing day and night. This reduces airway trauma, protects your lungs, balances your blood gases and enhances oxygen uptake to every cell in your body.

Benefits may include clear nose, less morning headache, more energy, better exercise capacity, clearer thinking, feeling calmer and silent restful sleep.

Our experience with working with thousands of people is that improvements in sleep are usually reported within days and consolidate within weeks. 

A common comment several days into breathing retraining is: “I was breathing so quietly last night that my husband/wife had to prod me to see if I was still alive.”
NOTE: Participants in breathing retraining programs should not alter or cease medication usage or CPAP or oral appliance usage without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. You should always have your doctor’s approval before stopping or modifying any prescribed treatment.
Learn more about breathing retraining

A FIRST STEP TO BETTER BREATHING

Try to breathe just a little more gently when you think of it, say a 1- 2% smaller breath size than your usual, whether its mouth or nose breathing you are doing. Stay comfortable – even a small change may show you a benefit. 

To go further you need to assess your breathing pattern, determine where (rate, rhythm, volume, use of breathing muscles, route - mouth or nose ...) it differs from normal, and change it step by step. Below are some options to help you.

Ready To Take Action?

  • $145

Breathe Away Online Breathing Course

  • Course
  • 16 Lessons
  • 90-day access

The BreatheAway course is the online version of the breathing retraining programs that Tess Graham has delivered to over 6000 people since 1993.
Buy nowLearn more

Books - Breathing retraining resources

Start now to improve this fundamental component of health, wellbeing and refreshing sleep

Relief from Anxiety and Panic

A 9-day program to take control of your physiology and regain calm, focus and ease – by learning to breathe the way calm people do.
Easy-to-follow explanations and step-by-step guidance in retraining your breathing and establishing the 9 healthy breathing habits. Includes info on ALL common breathing-related conditions for which people seek help from Buteyko breathing educators.

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Snoring and Sleep Apnoea

A step-by-step guide to restful sleep and better health through changing the way you breathe. The aim is to establish quiet, gentle, slow breathing - awake and asleep.
Easy-to-follow explanations and step-by-step guidance in retraining your breathing and establishing the 9 healthy breathing habits. Includes info on ALL common breathing-related conditions for which people seek help from Buteyko breathing educators.

View