I was gratified to read John Roughan’s article, As easy as drawing breath, The New Zealand Herald, 9 October, and learn that a tip he learned on the Buteyko course he did back in 2006 has helped relieve his sleep apnoea without recourse to an invasive CPAP machine.
He says the suggestion to sleep with a strip of tape on his mouth, learned on the course, has helped him control his sleep apnoea. He goes on to say in his article that if he stops taping his mouth the apnoeas return.
As the wife of one of my clients said, 'I’d rather have my husband sleep with a small piece of tape over his mouth than a big old machine strapped to his face.’ However, breathing through the nose is not the whole ticket and using a small piece of tape to encourage nasal breathing alone is not the solution to a complex and potentially serious health issue like sleep apnoea.
Unfortunately most people are unaware that snoring and sleep apnoea may be the result of a faulty breathing pattern and that learning a breathing technique like Buteyko can help resolve the problem.
The exercises do take commitment. Forty-five minutes of breathing exercises a day are practised for six weeks for optimal results. However, the benefits in relieving sleep apnoea and reducing the snoring, not to mention the noticeable improvements in overall health, far outweigh the commitment required. The programme is a natural alternative to CPAP machines, mandibular splints and surgery. The solution is right under your nose.
Contact us on 09-360 6291 to find out if the programme can help you relieve your snoring or sleep apnoea.
Glenn White
Buteyko Practitioner
Freemans Bay, Auckland
