Understanding Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is one of a long list of sleep disorders that we find in today's society. It however may go unnoticed for long periods of time, or even years, as it shows only symptoms to the onlooker. In fact it can be very frightening for you if your partner suffers from the issue even though he or she will be asleep and blissfully unaware of your panic. Sleep apnea literally means pauses in breathing. To the on looker, it can be very easy to see, the person stopping breathing for short periods of time that are called apneas.

Depending on the severity of your condition, you may stop breathing up to thirty times a night as well as suffer from periods of hypo apnea when the body fails to breath deeply enough. The patient may stop breathing for what seem long periods of time, anything between seconds and minutes is quite normal. Although the sufferer is unaware of what is happening, he or she may suffer from fatigue during the daytime. Fatigue during the day is a symptom of restless sleep or interrupted sleep. A test which monitors our sleep, known as a polysomnogram can confirm if we are suffering from sleep apnea or another sleep related disorder.

It is important to understand why sleep apnea happens and how it can be prevented, both for the sufferer and those around him. Firstly we must understand the type of apnea we are suffering from. There are three kinds of sleep apnea; central, obstructive and mixed. Obstructive makes up for some 84% of all apnea cases, and means that there is something physically obstructing our breathing. When we are sleeping, our whole body relaxes, and the soft tissue in the throat area may stop enough air from circulating through our airways, causing the apneas.

There are many physical factors that can help us decide if the apnea from which we are suffering is obstructive, and many preventative measures to help this disturbing problem. Patients with online diabetes as well as obese patients are more likely to suffer from this disorder, obese patients simply having too much tissue in the throat area, obstructing the normal airways. Heavy smokers are also at high risk, as are people who drink heavily. If we consume large amounts of alcohol, or take sleeping tablets, then our tongue will often fall back into our throat and obstruct our breathing. Upper respiratory infections can also bring on attacks of sleep apnea as your throat can become swollen and inflamed.

The other kinds of sleep apnea are central sleep apnea and mixed. Central is relatively uncommon, accounting for just 0.4% of cases, and mixed a 15% of the total. Central sleep apnea is caused when our brain has an imbalance, in its' respiratory control, and simply forgets to breath. Mixed is somewhere between, or a mixture of O.S.A and C.S.A. One of the most common symptom of all types is loud snoring, although snoring can be caused by many other factors, and just because someone is snoring loudly does not mean that they are suffering from this disorder.

There are physical treatments and even operations available to help with this problem. A splint can be put in the mouth when you are sleeping to stop the tongue from falling back into the throat for example. But in general, there are many things we can do to help ourselves when we are suffering from sleep apnea. To start with, look towards if your weight is an issue. If you are obese, then you must do something positive to try and lose weight, as the problem will only worsen. Quitting smoking can help enormously with sleep apnea, and as well as being a great thing to do for our health it will save us money and allow us to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. You can try lying on your side to sleep, as in this position your tongue won't fall back into your throat. Cut down on alcohol intake and use of sleeping tablets and you will be amazed in the difference to how you sleep, as well as your health. If your sleep apnea is not related to alcohol, smoking or obesity, then look to sleeping on an inclined bed. An incline angle of around 30% can do wonders for patients of sleep apnea, allowing the air to circulate more freely. If you think that you or your partner or a family member may be suffering from sleep apnea, then consult a medical professional who will be able to confirm the diagnosis.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=R_Hasan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8058110

How To Survive The Cold And Flu Season

As the temperature drops and we say goodbye to summer, we start to prepare for a long cold season, not just temperature wise, but in terms of illness. While getting the occasional cold and flu is not abnormal, it does put a damper on our day to day. In this article I'll discuss a few good tips to help prevent getting the cold and/or flu.
Tip #1 - Get some zzzzzzs - It is crucial to get a good nights sleep, without it we become more tired and our body focuses on keeping us going rather than fighting any infection. So stop burning the midnight oil and get some rest, especially during the cold and flu season.
Tip #2 - Wash your hands - It is so easy to absent-mindedly touch your face, but think of what that hand has been touching... especially in this season! Wash your hands often as they are one of the gateways to transmit infection from person to person. Make sure you also encourage your kids to wash their hands as soon as they get home from school to help minimize the spread of germs.
Tip #3 - No more sugar - Sugar is probably one of the worse things you can eat for your health. Did you know that eating the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sugar per day can depress your immune system for 4 hours! Now that's a long time for your body to lose its defences during the prime time for infection.
Tip #4 - Eat the rainbow - Eating a colourful array of fruits and vegetables ensures that you are getting a vast amount of phytonutrients thus ensuring that you get the most vitamins and minerals from your diet to support your natural immune defences.
Tip #5 - Soak up the sun - Getting your daily vitamin D continues to be important all through the winter as it is also an important factor in proper immune function. If you're not getting outside very often consider supplementing with liquid vitamin D daily.
Tip #6 - Time for exercise - Following an exercise regime can increase your immune function and keep you feeling great. However, make sure you don't over do it since intense exercise can have the opposite effect!
Tip #7 - Decrease stress - I know easier said that done. But keep in mind that the more stress you have in your life the more stress this puts on your immune system and thus making you more susceptible to infection.
Tip #8 - Probiotics - Did you know that the majority of your immune system is found in your gut? Not kidding! So you can imagine if your gut is not colonized with the "good" bacteria then you're already fighting a losing battle. Consider taking a daily probiotic to ensure that you're providing some crowd control and keeping the "bad" bacteria out!

Still worried about getting the cold and/or flu? Consider coming in for an Immune Booster Shot! Dr. V has created an Immune Boosting Program that is customizable based on your immune needs.
Dr. Véronic Provencher MSc ND (aka Dr. V) is a Naturopathic Doctor currently working out of Wellness Within in the Enjoy Centre located in St. Albert, Alberta. Dr. V is currently accepting new patients in the Greater Edmonton Area (including, but not limited to, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Sherwood Park).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Veronic_Provencher

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8066474

What Is Reiki System of Natural Healing?

The word reiki means Universal life force energy where the word reiki means universal and 'ki' means life force energy. Life force energy is the vital force in all living things that enables them to live and procreate.
It is a unique art where the reiki practitioner channels this concentrated form of life force energy through their chakra system (invisible energy vortexes in the human body) the reiki energy flows through the crown chakra and then passes to their palm chakra, then this energy is beamed onto the healee to heal any ailments the healee may be suffering from.
Reiki energy has a soothing and relaxing characteristic; it is a wonderful stress buster. Most of the people receiving a treatment go to sleep within a couple of minutes of healing. Healing is divinely guided. It has innate intelligence to know and heal wholly and completely. In other words the healing energy knows how and what to heal we need not give instructions to it on how to heal Reiki energy is all knowing and it knows how to heal.
Reiki healing techniques are fairly simple and with dedication they are easy to master. There is no specific pre qualification required to learn it. Anyone with the desire to learn and an open mind can easily learn reiki. Attunement is a process during which the reiki master passes on their power to heal to the student. After the attunement process the reiki student gets the ability to channel energy and heal themselves and others effectively. Usually the attunement process involves invoking angels and gods and goddesses.
Reiki healing generally lasts for an hour. The practitioner can feel the flow of reiki energy through the body and transmit this energy to the person who gets healed, there are secret symbols used in reiki these symbols assist the process of healing. Reiki Distant Healing is also possible with reiki. It is possible to remotely send healing to the person without the healee physically being present with the reiki practitioner. Reiki distant healing is very powerful and is very convenient for the healee as they can get the healing at the comfort of their home.
Chakras are wheel like energy centre in our body there are seven major chakras in our human body they are muladhara( root chakra), swadhistan (sacral plexus ), manipuraha( solar plexus), anahata (heart chakra), vishudhi( throat chakra), ajna (third eye chakra), sahasrara(crown chakra). The working of these chakras are essential for the healthy working of the human body. With the help of reiki we can easily heal and restore heath and well being to all the chakras and the body parts and organ associated with each chakra.
Reiki is most importantly used for positive thinking and goal manifestation. Reiki destroys all negativity in the body, mind and consciousness and helps in bringing positive thoughts to us. There are various healing techniques in reiki which helps in manifestation of one's desires and manifesting one's goals.

Third Eye Reiki Services is a center of excellence for reiki. Reiki training and healing sessions are conducted at center in Chennai, India. For more information visit http://www.thirdeyereiki.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=V_B_Roshan_Shankar_Narayan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8074249

What Is Chronic Lyme Disease?

What is chronic Lyme disease?
Chronic Lyme disease is widely unrecognized and unknown in today's popular contemporary medical field - in fact it creates defensiveness and denial when mentioned in many circles.
Chronic illness in and of itself has long existed and acknowledged throughout the world. On Ask.com, the following answer appeared after asking what is chronic illness:
A chronic disease is a disease that will last for a long time or will come and go, but always be a part of your life. Some chronic diseases include Fibromyalgia, COPD, diabetes, cancers and the different types of arthritis.
When I look up chronic on dictionary.com, I get words like "constant, habitual, continuing for a long time or recurring frequently, having a long duration." The Word English Dictionary adds "developing slowly, very bad and very serious" to the list.
The idea that today's Lyme disease is a singular culprit exists in traditional circles, but not in actual Lymies. We know that Lyme disease always travels and infects in multiples. Can you imagine if the mainstream media and medicine had to suddenly accept that most diabetes patients also simultaneously had stomach cancer or MS? Or that kids who got mono also had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the same time? The system would real from the ripples of confusion and fear this would create.
Chronic Lyme is rooted in the multiplicity of co-infections and the medical establishment's lack of treatment varieties. Their failure lies in low expertise with handling the widespread damage these various co-infections cause in the body and mind.
Most contemporary material on the internet and mainstream media will define Chronic Lyme as Lyme disease that is not "gone" or "cured" after 3-4 weeks of antibiotic treatment.
I would argue that there are tiers of Lyme, instead of the black and white version of only two kinds of Lyme disease in existence - Lyme and chronic Lyme.
Maybe the chart would look more like an Alzheimer's guide with early, middle and late stage Lyme described by symptoms. Add to that the lists of co-infections and trouble they cause and you understand why it confuses everyone.
Three to four weeks of antibiotics, if taken right after an initial tick bite might actually do some good and keep that person from being sick, but it might also just cause the spirochete to go dormant, only to rear its ugly head again down the road.
Chronic Lyme disease means that you don't have a typical case. It most likely means that you have seen multiple doctors before finding out you even had Lyme. It designates that you have various co-infections of other tick borne illnesses that are taking turns causing trouble and destroying your body. Chronic Lyme entitles you to be widely misunderstood by doctors, friends and family who will sometimes think you are faking it. Chronic Lyme attacks not just the physical, but the mental and emotional. It means that your treatment road will be long and hard and painful - and did I mention hard, and long? Oh, and it will be expensive.
Chronic Lyme, however, is not a death sentence. It is not a cause to weep or get discouraged. There are many (not a ton) qualified knowledgeable doctors who have learned how to fight this illness and win.
Think of it more like a car accident that damages your knee right before your professional basketball career is just taking off. Maybe you'll never play basketball again, or if you do it will be with a brace. Possibly, your knee will ache when it's going to rain. Maybe by the time you are older, a house without stairs helps your knee not hurt. The car wreck altered the course of your life and changed your plans, but you are still functional and able to live. It is forever with you, but you are still living.
Chronic Lyme will not be the end of you or your life - it feels like it and if not properly treated, it can be. It is brutal and difficult and has taken the lives of many who fought the good fight, but more because the lack of doctors, treatment and financial availability.
Would I have gotten so sick if someone would have found the Lyme years ago before all the slow damage? Could I have been spared the 2 years of the Lyme pit if it were more widely understood and well known? If we had an early detection system would there be such widespread Chronic Lyme at all?
We are the cusp of a Lyme revolution. Keep talking about it, keep researching, keep seeking truth in this Lyme battle. Be a Lyme evangelist with me.

I am a recovering Lymie myself and the mother of two recovering Lymies. I am compelled this side of the healing process to reach out and help others with encouragement and information that leads to success. You are not alone in this chronic Lyme disease battle and you can conquer it and win your life back.
Janice Fairbairn
Just Living Like This with Lyme
http://justlivinglikethiswithlyme.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janice_Fairbairn

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8073151