Buteyko Health’s experience with working with 100s of people is ….

1. The majority of people can avoid needing a CPAP machine, surgery or dental devices.
2. If you have been using a CPAP machine, any people can safely come off the machine and sleep better, if their breathing returns to a more normal level and in many cases improve other conditions such as and hay fever, energy levels .... and of course rising CPAP pressure.
3. MANY people cannot successfully use a CPAP machine and MANY people do not want to use a CPAP machine.
4. Improvements in sleep may happen in days.

The Buteyko view is that SLEEP APNOEA is the body’s defence against the way the person is breathing. A Buteyko course to retrain the breathing back to normal may resolve the root CAUSE , and hence overcomes the problem.

CPAP machines attempt to force the airways open, strong asthma drugs open the airways(lungs) open – in both cases people may get temporary relief but usually get worse, are less able to do physical exercise and often find other problems occur such as blood pressure rising. This is because this traditional management not only does not solve the cause of the problem, but actually maintains the problem by keeping the breathing incorrect. People become a customer for life.

SNORING is caused by one thing only - the volume of air a person is pushing in and out through their breathing pipes at night. 

Dental devices attempt to help by Mandibular Advancement Appliances but are often uncomfortable, expensive and can stretch the lower jaw permanently. 

SNORING noise reduces within the first days of the Buteyko course and reduces right down as the person's breathing permanently returns to normal.

Most people are familiar with snoring and the negative effects it can have on relationships with partners and other members of the household. Snoring often leads to the onset of sleep apnoea. From the Buteyko perspective both sleep apnoea and snoring occur due to incorrect breathing, specifically overbreathing or hyperventilation. People exert most control of their breathing and breathe smaller volumes of air when upright. The closer a person becomes to the horizontal position the deeper the breathing volume becomes and the more loss of carbon dioxide (CO2) there is from the lungs. The worst way to sleep is on the back with the mouth open without the use of a pillow. This is the situation in which the breathing volume increases significantly.

Typically persons with sleep apnoea will display:

• Apnoeas of between 10 seconds and 2 minutes or more
• Snoring (though not always with CSA)
• Restlessness, excessive movement/ kicking while asleep (restless legs)
• Mouth breathing
• Dry mouth/throat on waking
• Thirst overnight or on waking
• Waking unrefreshed, 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 deep 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 which drags 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 investigation, 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. A hypopnea is when breathing is reduced by 50% or more. During cessation of breathing (apnoea) 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.

When apnoeas no longer occur CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machines are no longer required and surgery can be avoided.

Other Sleep Disturbances
Sleeping disturbances can of course take other forms: insomnia, waking throughout the night, vivid chaotic dreams, night terrors, nightmares, sleep talking, sleep walking, excessive waking for urination, bed wetting and many more. The way that a person breathes pays a part in all of these conditions and correcting breathing patterns with Buteyko greatly reduces their occurrence. .

The different stages of sleep are very important to the body as the production of certain hormones and other chemicals occurs during certain stages. One of these hormones is ADH (Anti-Diuretic Hormone), which enables the body to concentrate the urine. People who hyperventilate during sleep will often need to void urine more frequently than others and will experience broken sleep due to nocturnal visits to the bathroom. Children will often be bed-wetters.

The Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining normalises both daytime and night-time breathing. A return to normal sleep patterns is observed in the vast majority of people who undertake the Buteyko course.

An article on Sleep Apnoea and the Buteyko Institute Breathing Method written by BIBH member Mary Birch has been published as the clinical feature article of the August 2004 issue of the ANJ (Australian Nursing Journal).

Download this excellent article & Case Study published by Mary Birch in Australian Nursing.