Who
does Buteyko help?
The
Buteyko Institute Method is effective for adults of any
age experiencing the following
(click on each to read more):
If
you have a condition not listed which you suspect may
be influenced by your breathing pattern please contact
a Buteyko practitioner
for consultation.
Children
and the Buteyko Institute method
The
Buteyko Institute method is suitable for children from
3 years of age.
No matter what the past medical history, all children with breathing disorders will benefit from learning Buteyko.
Read more.
Sleep
Apnoea
Sleep
apnoea is a condition characterised by ‘stopping
breathing’ for more than 10 seconds at a time while
asleep. There are two types of sleep apnoea; obstructive
sleep apnoea (OSA) and the less common central sleep apnoea
(CSA). Diagnosis is confirmed by a polysomnograph or ‘sleep
study’.
Typically persons with sleep apnoea will display:
- Apnoeas of between 10 sec and 2 minutes or more
- Snoring
(though not always with CNS)
- Restlessness, excessive movement/ kicking while asleep
- Mouth breathing
- Dry mouth/throat on waking
- Thirst overnight and/or on waking
- Waking unrefreshed and daytime tiredness/ foggy thinking
- Tendency to fall asleep in meetings and in front of the TV
- Breathlessness on exercise
Normal sleep occurs in five stages: Stages 1,2,3,4, & REM (rapid eye movement).
Stages 3 & 4 are the most restful and deepest sleep but when a person is over breathing, or hyperventilating, they are prevented from easily reaching these stages and primarily remain in the light and easily disturbed sleep of stages 1 & 2. A person with sleep apnoea has the added difficulty of ‘arousal’ occurring each time an apnoea finishes with a gasping breath dragging the person near to consciousness though often they remain asleep. This explains why it often takes a long time for a person to accept that they have a problem needing investigating, much to the frustration of others!
The
Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining (BIM)
successfully reduces overbreathing (hyperventilation)
and normal sleep patterns return. Physiologically, hyperventilation
lowers the arterial and alveolar carbon dioxide (CO2)
to the point where the breathing reflex is depressed -interpreted
as an apnoea or hypopnoea to an observer. During cessation
of breathing the CO2 slowly accumulates until it triggers
the body to take the next breath. By correcting the breathing
pattern the body no longer needs to suppress the breathing
reflex as the CO2 level is maintained within normal limits.
Click
here to read an article on the real cause of sleeping
disorders by Sydney based respiratory physiologist Roger
Price.
An
article examining the role of breathing retraining in
obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) appeared in the Australian
Nursing Journal August 2004. Click
here to read the article.
