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.
Snoring
An
article in the New Zealand Herald June 3rd 2008 proclaimed
Sleep disorders - particularly sleep apnoea - are costing
millions every year. Michael Epton president of the Thoracic
Society of Australia and New Zealand says sleep apnoea
is causing thousands of people to feel constantly tired
and lethargic and puts them at risk of other serious health
problems including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular
disease and respiratory failure.
Mr
Epton is quoted as saying "We know how to treat sleep
apnoea and many other sleep disorders, but there is simply
not enough money within DHBs to pay because of capped
funding in this area." For anyone who has gone down
the path of diagnosis and treatment for snoring and or
sleep apnoea will know it is an expensive process with
the only options offered being oral devices, continuous
positive air pressure (CPAP) machines or at worst surgery.
If
you are an adult male, the odds are about 50/50 that your
breathing is not normal when you are sleeping. It is imperative
that anyone who might have this problem or is predisposed,
or knows someone they care about who has the problem,
should have the clearest possible understanding about
it. Firstly
it needs to be understood that snoring and sleep apnoea
are an indication of dysfunctional breathing and helping
to restore functional breathing is the natural solution
to overcoming these conditions and restoring good health.
So
why do some people snore and why do some people go on
to develop sleep apnoea? Snoring is noisy breathing caused
by vibration of the airway walls at the back of the throat
(pharynx). People with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)
experience recurrent episodes during sleep when their
throat closes and they cannot suck air into their lungs
(apnoea). This happens because the muscles that normally
hold the throat open during wakefulness lose their tone
during sleep and allow it to narrow. When the throat is
partially closed trying to inhale will suck the throat
completely closed and air cannot pass at all. This is
an obstructive sleep apnoea episode.
Sleep
specialists recognise that snoring and sleep apnoea are
breathing disorders but up till now the only treatment
options on offer were surgery, oral devices or CPAP machines.
These interventions are at best uncomfortable at worst
painful and in most cases more disruptive than the symptoms
they aim to fix. Furthermore they don’t address
the underlying un-healthy breathing pattern which if left
unchecked may lead on to more serious health issues including
hypertension and increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
The physiology behind this is explained in our introductory
workshops.
The
Buteyko programme of breathing retraining helps normalize
the breathing pattern. The majority of course attendees
achieve an improvement in their snoring and reduction
in sleep apnoea episodes within the first few days of
the programme. With functional breathing restored, snoring
and sleep apnoeas reduce and normal sleep patterns return.
No
one who breathes correctly should require an oral device
or CPAP machine to enjoy restful snore-free sleep.
Contact
the
Buteyko clinic
in Auckland on 09-360 6291 to find out if Buteyko can
help you overcome your snoring or sleep apnoea.
Click
here to read an interesting article on sleep apnoea
and dysfunctional breathing 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.
