Sleep. That beautiful state of unconsciousness we often don’t fully appreciate until those babies arrive, altering all thoughts of a whole uninterrupted night’s slumber ever again. Happily, that particular interrupted sleep situation does improve, but imagine one that does not!

Sleep apnea is reported to be reaching epidemic proportions. This gives cause for concern, as consistently interrupted sleep is not good for several reasons.

According to The National Sleep Foundation USA:

“The combination of disturbed sleep and oxygen starvation may lead to hypertension, heart disease and mood and memory problems. Sleep apnea also increases the risk of drowsy driving.”

Sleep Apnea or Just Snoring?

If you snore however which way you lay in bed, and wake yourself up suddenly with the noise, and maybe feel you can’t breathe, it could be more than just snoring. I say “just snoring” loosely, as this in itself is often so disruptive for couples who share a bed, that relationships have been known to break down. Just snoring can be remedied by a diet cutting out mucus forming foods, but apnea is not quite so simple. There are several types of sleep apnea, the most widespread being “obstructive sleep apnea”, which causes severe restriction of oxygen and increased carbon dioxide.

Doctor or Dentist?

It is useful to have sleep apnea diagnosed, and for most people this would entail a visit to their doctor. However, a holistic dentist may well be the better option.

Arthur M. Strauss, DDS, an integrative dentist of many years standing, has written extensively on the topic of sleep apnea in all its variations. He believes one of the reasons for the apnea epidemic is that a poor diet over several generations is now manifesting itself by lack of proper jaw structure. So to avoid this happening in the future, feed your children a good diet and breast feed as long as you can. The sucking action helps aid the jawbones to develop as they should.

Machine Relief Vs. Natural Help

Many overweight people suffer with sleep apnea, and whilst losing the extra weight is the answer, it is not that easy to do when you are sleep deprived. Tired people usually crave a quick sugary fix, and it is hard to summon will power to change, when not getting the sleep you need. Currently, the most popular way to “treat” sleep apnea is CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), a device described by one wearer as, “having a hard plastic mask over your face all night long, forcing air up your nostrils”. So what is the alternative?

Natural Remedies for Sleep Apnea: the Role of Magnesium

Dr. Carolyn Dean is an expert on the use of magnesium as a natural remedy for all manner of health issues. She has this to say regarding sleep apnea:

“The upper throat muscles help keep our airway open, allowing air to flow into the lungs. And even though these muscles usually relax during sleep, the upper throat remains open enough to let air pass. But medical researchers tell us that some people actually have narrow throats that may completely close when their upper throat muscles relax during sleep. This prevents air from getting into their lungs.

I’d say you definitely need magnesium. Magnesium is necessary in any muscle problem, because magnesium regulates the way muscles function. I would love to see people with sleep apnea treated with magnesium before having to resort to bulky breathing machines or surgery. The recommended dosage of magnesium citrate powder is 300 mg twice daily.”

Earthing Yourself

Familiarize yourself with Earthing (or Grounding). This means connecting yourself to the Earth, much like an electrical device, so as to alleviate your body of excessive charge. There are many anecdotal results from sleeping on an earthing sheet. This sheet plugs into a socket but does NOT use electricity. It only uses the socket’s earthing pin. Alternatively you can start off with an earthing wrist or ankle band to wear whilst sleeping, which sound like a much more comfortable option than having to sleep with a hard plastic mask on your face.

Clint Ober is the Earthing expert, and many leading holistic healers now use his equipment. The results are astounding.

Anecdotal Evidence on Earthing

In the words of massage therapist Moses Goldstein:

“I might have sleep apnea, but I have never been properly diagnosed. One thing is for sure, I snore… Badly. Just ask my wife, my brothers, or anyone else who has had the displeasure of trying to sleep near me. For years, these people have told me that I interrupt my loud snoring with holding my breath for long periods, gasping for air, and letting out long ‘scary sounding’ groans in my sleep… All of which sounds a lot like classic sleep apnea.

As you can imagine, I would wake up feeling exhausted… I have struggled for years with trying to use a CPAP machine to overcome these sleep issues.

Happily, all of those problems are a thing of the past thanks to an inexpensive experiment in sleeping grounded:

A couple of months ago, my brother and I took our kids camping. Despite staying up way too late by the campfire, I woke up early in the morning feeling refreshed and well rested. ‘Sorry about my snoring’, I said to my brother. He responded with, ‘You didn’t snore’.

This got me thinking that perhaps it’s time to run an experiment in sleeping while grounded.”

Moses bought a starter earthing kit consisting of a wristband to wear at night, and this was the result on his first use:

“The next morning I awoke feeling quite well rested!

• My wife said I didn’t snore at all.
• I didn’t hold my breath.
• No creepy groaning sounds…
• I was cured! (or so it seems)

Every night since I began sleeping grounded, my results have been the same. On occasion, my wife will still wake me because I’m snoring. Every time this happens, I fumble in the dark to find that either I had not put on the bracelet or the wire was un-snapped from the bracelet. I’ll simply ‘plug in’ and fall asleep with no more snoring.”

So Simple!

Magnesium and/or Earthing. These two natural remedies for sleep apnea are the place to start. By taking magnesium and getting yourself earthed at night using wrist bands (or a sheet, depending on your budget), you will get good quality sleep.

Then you can deal with your other issues, such as weight loss, with renewed energy, enthusiasm and ease.