Monday, December 27, 2010

Acupuncture and Sleep Apnea





There are many people who suffer from sleep apnea, "a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep" (www.nhlbi.nih.gov).
Such extremities like jaw surgeries are required to tame sleep apnea and most people do not know if they have the disorder because there aren't overwhelming symptoms. 

My boyfriend snores a lot, every time he sleeps so that made me think about sleep apnea. I've done some research for a previous community college newspaper last year which lead me to suspect that he is suffering from sleep apnea.
Doing some light reading, I came across this website called sleepdisordersguide.com where there was an article about sleep apnea and acupuncture. 

http://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/blog/sleepdisorders/acupuncture-an-alternative-treatment-for-sleep-apnea-that-works/
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Sleep apnea is a disorder that can seriously affect your health and quality of life.
Have you tired trying with all the treatments for sleep apnea?
Acupuncture is one of the best treatments for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest alternative treatments for the treatment of many medical problems including sleep apnea.
Alternative treatment is preferred for sleep apnea treatment due to various advantages over conventional treatment. Acupuncture is well accepted because it avoids the risk of side effects as it includes natural treatment.
According to the assumption made in traditional Chinese medicine, your body is supposed to function properly. When all are in harmony, body will function properly.
You have to in certain way to make your body work properly. You have to consider diet, exercise, mental and spiritual well-being that contributes to harmony.
When something is out of order, there is a definite reason. It is the search of underlying cause rather than concentration on symptoms that make acupuncture recommended treatment for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture involves application of fine needles into the human body into one or more of the 2,000 acupuncture points.
These points link twelve main and eight secondary pathways. The channels or pathways are called meridians. The meridians conduct energy between the body’s skin and internal organs.
The energy conducted by meridians coordinate the balance between one’s spiritual, mental, physical and emotional state.
Acupuncture body parts have been identified that are related to sleep issues to such a point that a method known as acupressure is used to induce sleep. Acupressure is nothing but applying light pressure to the acupuncture body point.
This can be done by pinching the point mildly between the thumb and finger. Both acupuncture and acupressure reduce tension, increase circulation, brings down levels of stress and regulate breath so that the body is enabled and relaxes deeply.
Using acupuncture for sleep apnea can over time correct whatever imbalances are causing sleep apnea, minus any side effects. Apart from improved sleep, people who have used acupuncture for sleep apnea obtained a greater feeling of well-being and improvement in health.
Once you start use acupuncture, your sleep improves slowly. During the treatment, do not consume caffeine, stress hormones should be decreased, daily routines and diet should be modified.
After several sessions, there is no need of any treatments to help in getting sleep. Each type of acupuncture for sleep apnea treatment consists of a different combination of meridians or points. Treatment with acupuncture differs for specific needs of individuals to fit that person.