This is my review of a 100% natural stop-snoring technique I recently found and tried. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

Like you, I began searching the web for cures for my snoring problem. I've been teased about it ever since I was eight years old. My spouse is fond of telling people that I "shake the windows" every night.

But it wasn't until recently that I realized it was no laughing matter.

Snoring can actually be deadly. When my doctor told me about the strain it puts on my heart, well, that was enough to scare me into doing something about it.

I won't tell you about all the crazy remedies I came across, as I'm sure you've found a few yourself, but most of it was just that; craziness.

I also didn't want to take medication. I mean, I have enough trouble breathing while I'm sleeping. I'm going to take some pills that could possibly make it even harder? I don't think so.

I came across the "Stop Snoring Exercise Program" that "guaranteed" my snoring would be cured.

Now understand, I am a born skeptic, but I tried it for three reasons;

• I was scared of the effect my snoring was having on my health
  
• I was tired of sleeping on the couch so my spouse would stop poking me
  
• I wasn't risking anything because there was a money-back guarantee

To be honest, I really had no faith that it would work. I was already planning on exercising that money back guarantee.

But, I never did. Why not? Well, let me ask you a question first.

Did you know that the reason you snore may not be the same reason I snore?

I was not aware that there are different reasons for snoring. The unique aspect of this program was it allowed me to pinpoint the cause of my snoring and work on just that aspect. Once I figured that out, the rest was easy. No other remedy I'd tried had addressed this issue.

And I received a huge side-benefit that I never really considered. I mean, yes, my spouse is happier and I'm allowed to sleep in my bed every night now and that's great. And I don't have to worry about my heart working overtime all night.

But the biggest change I've noticed is how I feel during the day. I'm not tired anymore. My energy level has increased exponentially and I actually need less sleep than I did before.

So, that's why I decided to put up this review. I'm aware that you don't know me, but I always like to hear others opinion's of something before I purchase it, especially online, so I thought this might help some people make a decision.

As a user of The Stop Snoring Exercise Program, I give it "5 STARS." I can honestly say that it worked for me, I'm happier because of it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a snoring problem.

Click here to visit their web site.
Good Luck!!

Kim

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea
Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Sleep apnea, a disruption of breathing while asleep, is a deceiving sleep disorder - 90% of people who have sleep apnea don't know that they have it! Although episodes of choking or gasping for air might occur hundreds of times throughout the night, you may not have any recollection of struggling for breath.

Usually it is the bed partner who first notices that the person is struggling to breathe. If left untreated, this common disorder can be life-threatening.


Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea
Warning signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

* Frequent silences during sleep due to breaks in breathing (apnea)
* Choking or gasping during sleep to get air into the lungs
* Loud snoring
* Sudden awakenings to restart breathing or waking up in a sweat
* Daytime sleepiness and feeling unrefreshed by a night’s sleep, including falling asleep at inappropriate times



What happens when you have an episode of sleep apnea?
When you stop breathing during sleep due to sleep apnea, the balance
of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood is upset. This imbalance stimulates
the brain to restart the breathing process. The brain signals you to wake up so
that the muscles of the tongue and throat can increase the size of the airway.
Then, carbon dioxide can escape, and oxygen can enter the airway. These waking episodes are necessary to restart breathing (and to save your life), and you may not remember them, but they do disrupt your sleep and cause daytime exhaustion.





Is snoring the same as sleep apnea?

Snoring is not the same as sleep apnea. Snoring is simply
a loud sound that you make during breathing while asleep if there is any
obstruction in your airway. While it may be unpleasant for your sleep partner,
snoring is not in itself a harmful condition. On the other hand, people with
sleep apnea are deprived of oxygen due to a complete blockage of airways, which can have a major impact on health. Snoring does often accompany sleep apnea, but just because you snore does not mean you have sleep apnea.



Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

OSA is the most common type of sleep apnea. It is caused by a breathing obstruction, which stops the air flow in the nose and mouth. The rest of this article discusses the causes, symptoms and treatments for OSA.



Central Sleep Apnea (CSA)

Central sleep apnea (CSA), less common than OSA, is a central nervous system disorder that occurs when the brain signal telling the body to breathe is delayed. CSA can be caused by disease or injury involving the brainstem, such as a stroke, a brain tumor, a viral brain infection, or a chronic respiratory disease. People with CSA seldom snore. However, while the causes of apnea are different in CSA and OSA, the symptoms and results are much the same – a deprivation of oxygen and poor sleep. The treatments for CSA include medications that stimulate the need to breathe and administration of oxygen.



Causes and risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea

When you have obstructive sleep apnea, your throat collapses during sleep, blocking the airway and preventing air from getting to the lungs. Generally, your throat muscles keep the throat and airway open.


Primary causes and risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea
* Being overweight or obese (although 50% of people with sleep apnea are not obese)
* Large tonsils or adenoids
* Other distinctive physical attributes (deviated septum, shape of head and neck, receding chin, enlarged tongue)
* Nasal congestion or blockage (from cold, sinusitis, allergies, smoking, etc.)
* Throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal during sleep (possibly due to alchohol or sedatives or age)
Obstructive sleep apnea does seem to run in families which may be a result of anatomic abnormalities or medical conditions that are genetic.


Effects of sleep apnea on health
Sleep apnea has serious health consequences and can even be life-threatening. The main effects of sleep apnea are sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation.


Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation hurts the person with sleep apnea and the bed partner. Frequent waking, whether remembered or not, causes fitful sleep and prohibits therapeutic rest. A bed partner may lose an hour or more of sleep each night from sleeping next to a person with sleep apnea. Along with the apnea episodes, side effects like excessive sweating and a frequent need to urinate disrupt sleep. Often, a person with sleep apnea will wake up feeling like they have not slept or have difficulty staying awake during the day. Some trickle-down effects of sleep deprivation include a compromised immune system, poor mental and emotional health, and irritability.


Oxygen deprivation
When you stop breathing, your brain does not get enough oxygen. Serious problems can result from the oxygen deprivation of sleep apnea, including heart disease, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction, and learning/memory problems.


Depression and sleep apnea
Approximately one in five people who suffer from depression also suffer from sleep apnea, and people with sleep apnea are five times more likely to become depressed. Existing depression may also be worsened by sleep apnea. While it is not clear whether the apnea causes the depression or vice-versa, studies show that by treating sleep apnea symptoms, depression may be alleviated in some people.


Diagnosing sleep apnea
If you suspect you have sleep apnea, there are a few things that you might do before going to see a doctor or sleep specialist.


1. Keep a sleep diary – For a few nights, you or a sleep partner can record if you are snoring and how loud your snoring is, how well you are sleeping, whether you are having trouble breathing (choking or gasping), and whether you feel refreshed in the morning.
2. Record yourself sleeping – Recording yourself can be a helpful tool for your doctor. You can use a sound-activated audio recorder or a software program that turns your computer into a recorder.
With your sleep record in hand, consult a knowledgeable doctor or a sleep specialist. If your doctor suspects sleep apnea, you will probably be sent for an overnight sleep study in a sleep clinic (also known as a sleep lab or sleep center). Sleep tests in a sleep clinic help to diagnose sleep apnea by measuring how frequently you stop breathing.




Self-help treatment for sleep apnea
Minor sleep apnea is responsive to self-help remedies, or “behavioral treatments.” Some of the following self-help treatments for sleep apnea may work for you.


* Lose weight. Overweight individuals who lose even 10% of their weight can reduce sleep apnea and improve sleep quality.
* Stop using alcohol, tobacco, and sedatives, or anything that relaxes the muscles of the throat and encourages snoring.
* Sleep on your side. Special pillows or remedies that encourage side-sleeping, such as the “tennis ball trick,” might help people who only experience sleep apnea when they sleep on their back. See Snoring Causes and Cures for more tips.
* Elevate the head of your bed 4 -6 inches. This can alleviate snoring and make breathing easier.
* Maintain regular sleep hours.
* Use a nasal dilator, breathe right strips or saline nasal spray to help open nasal passages.


Treatment for sleep apnea


CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
CPAP is the most widely recommended treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. CPAP entails wearing a mask-like device while you sleep, which provides pressurized air to prevent the airway from collapsing. Most CPAP units are the size of a tissue box and many now come with a built in humidifier for comfort.


While CPAP works very well in preventing apnea symptoms, many people find the apparatus uncomfortable and difficult to use. Luckily, recent advancements to CPAP technology have made these once cumbersome devices much lighter, quieter and much more comfortable. Recent refinements include options such as


* “bilevel PAP,” which switches from higher to lower air pressure during the exhalation, making breathing easier for some,
* “AutoPAP”, which uses an internal regulator that adjusts pressure rather than remaining at one fixed setting.


Different types of masks are available and can make using the device more comfortable CPAP can cost $1000 or more - but they are usually effective when used correctly. Unfortunately, many people don’t receive proper coaching and guidance for using these breathing devices, and give up on them quickly.


The following tips may help you use CPAP more comfortably and successfully:


* Take your time. Start by using your CPAP for short periods during the day. Use the “ramp” setting to gradually increase air pressure.
* Make small adjustments to the mask, tubing and straps to find the right fit. Soft pads are available to cover the straps and reduce skin irritation.
* Try masks of different sizes and types. A full mask might work better if you breathe through your mouth. A mask with nasal pillows should decrease nose discomfort. A mask with a chin strap will help keep your mouth closed and reduce throat irritation.
* Put your CPAP unit under the bed if the noise bothers you.
* Use a humidifier with the CPAP unit (or get a unit with a humidifier) to decrease dryness and skin irritation. Try a special face moisturizer for dry skin.
* Try a saline nasal spray or a nasal decongestant for nasal congestion.
* Keep your mask, tubing and headgear clean. Replace CPAP and humidifier filters regularly.
* Work with your doctor or sleep specialist to ensure the right fit and find the right settings on your CPAP unit.
* Find a support group or others who use CPAP to exchange tips and give and receive moral support.
* Use the CPAP consistently – every night and during every nap. This will make the adjustment easier and ensure maximum benefit.


Dental appliances, oral devices, and lower jaw adjustment devices
Most dental devices are acrylic and fit inside your mouth, much like an athletic mouth guard or orthodontic appliance. Others fit around your head and chin to adjust the position of your lower jaw. Two common oral devices are the Mandibular Repositioning Device and the Tongue Retaining Device. These devices open your airway by bringing your lower jaw or your tongue forward during sleep.


While oral devices are less cumbersome than CPAP and relatively simple to use, they are only effective for mild to moderate sleep apnea. There are also a number of troubling side effects from using this type of treatment – soreness; damage to/permanent change in position of the jaw, teeth, and mouth; saliva build-up; and nausea. It is very important to get fitted by a dentist that specializes in sleep apnea, and to see the dentist on a regular basis for any dental problems that may occur.


Surgery as treatment
Surgery can increase the size of your airway. The surgeon may remove tonsils, adenoids, or excess tissue at the back of the throat or inside the nose. Or, the surgeon may reconstruct the jaw to enlarge the upper airway.


Surgery may be an effective option for some, and can even provide permanent relief from symptoms. However, any surgery carries risks of surgical complications and infections, and in some rare cases, symptoms can become worse after surgery. If you have exhausted other apnea treatment options, you may want to discuss surgical options with your doctor or sleep specialist.

Sleeping Well; What You Need to Know

Sleep Requirements, Needs, Cycles, and Stages

Why can’t I sleep? Why am I so tired? If you’re like half of all adults, you may not be sleeping well and not getting the right amount of sleep. Today’s fast paced society can make sleep seem like a luxury, not a need, but this is simply not true: you need quality sleep for good health. Sleep deprivation affects your entire body and mind.

Getting good, restorative sleep is not just a matter of hitting the pillow at night and waking up in the morning. Regulated by your body clock, your nighttime journey consists of sleep cycles with specific sleep stages, all vital for your body. Understanding these sleeping needs, cycles and stages can help you get better sleep.

What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?

Many of us want to sleep as little as possible. There is so much to do that sleep seems like a waste of time. Yet sleep, an essential time of rest and rejuvenation, benefits our minds and bodies in many ways. When you continuously don’t get the amount of sleep you need, you begin to pay for it in daytime drowsiness, trouble concentrating, irritability, increased risk of falls and accidents, and lower productivity.

Sleep benefits to our mood, memory and concentration

Have you ever pulled an “all nighter” to study for a final exam, only to find that you can barely remember what you studied during the test? Sleep helps to organize memories, solidify learning, and improve concentration. Proper sleep, especially sleep where you are actively dreaming (REM sleep), regulates mood as well. Lack of sleep can make you irritable and cranky, affecting your emotions, social interaction, and decision making. Sleep deprivation also affects motor skills, enough to be similar to driving while drunk if seriously sleep deprived. Driver fatigue, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, causes over 100,000 accidents and 1500 deaths each year.

Sleep benefits to our immune system, nervous system and development

Immune system. It doesn’t seem fair. Right when you are exhausted after a stressful move or a big project at work, you come down with a cold. That’s no accident - sleep is essential to the immune system. Without adequate sleep, the immune system becomes weak, and the body becomes more vulnerable to infection and disease.

Nervous system. Sleep is also a time of rest and repair to neurons. Neurons are the freeways of the nervous system that carry out both voluntary commands, like moving your arm, and involuntary commands, like breathing and digestive processes.

Hormone release. Many hormones, substances produced to trigger or regulate particular body functions, are timed to release during sleep or right before sleep. Growth hormones, for example, are released during sleep, vital to growing children but also for restorative processes like muscle repair.

Sleep deprivation and how it affects your life

How do you know if you’re getting the sleep you need? Sleep deprivation occurs when you are not sleeping the right amount for your individual needs. Sometimes sleep deprivation is short term, like a college student pulling an all nighter. Chronic sleep deprivation often occurs in professions who work long hours, caregivers with multiple responsibilities, a concurrent sleep disorder or another disease that interferes with sleep. If you are falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, regularly need an alarm clock to wake up, or feel the need for frequent naps during the day, it is very likely you are sleep deprived.

Other signs you may be suffering from sleep deprivation include:

* difficulty waking up in the morning
* poor performance in school, on the job, or in sports
* increased clumsiness
* difficulty making decisions
* falling asleep during work or class
* feeling especially moody or irritated

Sleep deprivation can be dangerous not only to you but others, since it affects motor skills like driving. Chronic sleep deprivation is also thought to cause long term changes to the body, which contribute to increased risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Find out how much sleep you need

So how much sleep do you need? A rule of thumb is to consider how you normally feel after sleep. Do you feel refreshed and alert, or groggy and exhausted? If you don’t feel refreshed, chances are you’re not sleeping enough. Sleep requirements are highly individual and depend on many factors:

* your age and genetic makeup
* what you do during your waking hours, including exercise
* the quality of your sleep

Typical Sleep Needs

Infants - About 16 hours per day of sleep

Babies and toddlers - From 6 months to 3 years: between 10 and 14 hours per day. Infants and young children generally get their sleep from a combination of nighttime sleep and naps.

Children
Ages 3 to 6 - between 10 and 12 hours of sleep
Ages 6 to 9 - about 10 hours of sleep
Ages 9 to 12 - about 9 hours of sleep

Teenagers
About 9 hours of sleep per night. Teens have trouble getting enough sleep not only because of their busy schedules, but also because they are biologically programmed to want to stay up later and sleep later in the morning, which usually doesn’t mesh with school schedules.

Adults
For most adults, 7 to 8 hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep.

Older adults
Older adults are also thought to need 7-8 hours of sleep. However, this sleep may be for shorter time spans, is lighter than a younger adult’s, and may include a nap during the day.

Pregnant women
During pregnancy, women may need a few more hours of sleep per night, or find that they need small catnaps during the day.

Paying off your sleep debt

Your body can’t just bounce back from not sleeping enough. Sleep deprivation adds up to what is called a sleep debt. A sleep debt can range from one night’s very poor sleep to the accumulation of many days of not enough sleep. Although you won’t be getting letters from creditors if you ignore this sleep debt, not paying it off leads to decreased mental and physical health.

Paying off your sleep debt and getting your body back to normal may seem difficult or impossible with work and family responsibilities. However, making up for lost sleep and improving future sleep habits will increase your productivity and health in the long run.

Short term sleep debt

For a short term sleep debt, like a night or two of little sleep, you may just need a day or two of increased sleep to make it up. However, try not to make it a habit. Making up sleep on the weekends so you can sleep less during the week, for example, can disrupt overall sleep quality. Your sleep will be better if you go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day.

Long term sleep debt

If you have been chronically sleep deprived, you might need a longer time to make up your sleep debt. You may even need to take a sleep vacation, where you devote a few days to sleeping as long as needed. Although it may seem excessive at first, soon your body will revert to your optimum sleep needs

Sleep stages: the sleep cycle

Understanding sleep stages and the sleep cycle can help you get better sleep. Your sleep is regulated by an internal body clock, sensitive to light, time of day and other cues for sleep and awakening. When you fall asleep, your sleep goes in cycles throughout the night, moving back and forth between deep restorative sleep and more alert stages and dreaming. As the night progresses, you spend more time in dream sleep and lighter sleep.

There are two main types of sleep. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is when you do most active dreaming. Your eyes actually move back and forth during this stage, which is why it is called REM sleep. Non-REM (NREM) sleep consists of four stages of deeper and deeper sleep. Each sleep stage is important for overall quality sleep, but deep sleep and REM sleep are especially vital.

A typical night of sleep follows this pattern:

Stage 1 (Drowsiness) - Stage 1 lasts just five or ten minutes. Eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and you are easily awakened.

Stage 2 (Light Sleep) - Eye movements stop, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.

Stages 3 & 4 (Deep Sleep) - You’re difficult to awaken, and if you are awakened, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes. Deep sleep allows the brain to go on a little vacation needed to restore the energy we expend during our waking hours. Blood flow decreases to the brain in this stage, and redirects itself towards the muscles, restoring physical energy. Research also shows that immune functions increase during deep sleep.

REM sleep (Dream Sleep) – At about 70 to 90 minutes into your sleep cycle, you enter REM sleep. You usually have three to five REM episodes per night. This stage is associated with processing emotions, retaining memories and relieving stress. Breathing is rapid, irregular and shallow, the heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, males may have penile erections, and females may have clitoral enlargement.

Importance of deep sleep and REM sleep

Deep Sleep

Each stage of sleep offers benefits to the sleeper. However, deep sleep is perhaps the most vital stage. It is the first stage that the brain attempts to recover when sleep deprived, and the strongest effects of sleep deprivation are from inadequate deep sleep. What might disrupt deep sleep? If you are caring for someone around the clock, whether it is a small infant or an elderly relative with a serious illness, you might need to attend to them suddenly in the middle of the night. Loud noise outside or inside the home might wake you. If you work the night shift, sleeping during the day may be difficult, due to light and excess noise during the day. Substances like alcohol and nicotine also disrupt deep sleep.

Maximize your deep sleep. Make sure your sleep environment is as comfortable as possible and minimize outside noise. If you are being awakened as a caregiver, make sure that you get some time of uninterrupted sleep, especially if you have had some unusually disruptive nights. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

REM sleep

REM sleep, or dream sleep, is essential to our minds for processing and consolidating emotions, memories and stress. It is also thought to be vital to learning, stimulating the brain regions used in learning and developing new skills. Most of dreaming occurs during REM sleep, although it can happen during other sleep stages as well. There are different theories as to why you dream. Freud thought that dreams were the processing of unconscious desires. Today, researchers wonder if it may be the brain’s way of processing random fragments of information received during the day. Much of dreaming is still a mystery. If REM sleep is disrupted one night, your body will go through more REM the next to catch up on this sleep stage.

Getting more REM sleep

Studies have shown that better REM sleep helps boost your mood during the day. How can you get more REM sleep? One simple way is to try to sleep a little more in the morning. As your sleep cycles through the night, it starts with longer periods of deep sleep. By the morning, the REM sleep stage is longer. Try sleeping an extra half hour to hour and see if your mood improves.
Improving your overall sleep will also increase your REM sleep. If your body is deprived of deep sleep, it will try to make that up first- at the expense of REM sleep.

Article originally publised at Helpguide.Org