Beating Sleep Apnea

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Healthier, Natural Sleep Without Obstruction!

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, the sleep disorder in which one periodically stops breathing (and thus wakes up) repeatedly through the night, affects about 25% of men and 10% of women:

Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Why the gender split?

There are clues that suggest it is at least partially hormonal: once women have passed menopause, the gender split becomes equal.

Are there other risk factors?

There are few risk other factors; some we can’t control, and some we can:

  • Being older is riskier than being younger
  • Being overweight is riskier than not being overweight
  • Smoking is (what a shock) riskier than not smoking
  • Chronic respiratory diseases increase risk, for example:
    • Asthma
    • COPD
    • Long COVID*—probably. The science is young for this one so far, so we can’t say for sure until more research has been done.
  • Some hormonal conditions increase risk, for example:

*However, patients already undergoing Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) treatment for obstructive sleep apnea may have an advantage when fighting a COVID infection:

Prolonged Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep Medicine Services—Longitudinal Data from the Swedish Sleep Apnea Registry

What can we do about it?

Avoiding the above risk factors, where possible, is great!

If you are already suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, then you probably already know about the possibility of a CPAP device; it’s a mask that one wears to sleep, and it does what its name says (i.e. it applies continuous positive airway pressure), which keeps the airway open.

We haven’t tested these, but other people have, so here are some that the Sleep Foundation found to be worthy of note:

Sleep Foundation | Best CPAP Machines of 2024

What can we do about it that’s not CPAP?

Wearing a mask to sleep is not everyone’s preferred way to do things. There are also a plethora of surgeries available, but we’ll not review those, as those are best discussed with your doctor if necessary.

However, some lifestyle changes can help, including:

  • Lose weight, if overweight. In particular, having a collar size under 16” for women or under 17” for men, is sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.
  • Stop smoking, if you smoke. This one, we hope, is self-explanatory.
  • Stop drinking alcohol, or at least reduce intake, if you drink. People who consume alcohol tend to have more frequent, and longer, incidents of obstructive sleep apnea. See also: How To Reduce Or Quit Drinking
  • Avoid sedatives and muscle relaxants, if it is safe for you to do so. Obviously, if you need them to treat some other condition you have, talk this through with your doctor. But basically, they can contribute to the “airway collapses on itself” by reducing the muscular tension that keeps your airway the shape it’s supposed to be.
  • Sleep on your side, not your back. This is just plain physics, and a matter of wear the obstruction falls.
  • Breathe through your nose, not through your mouth. Initially tricky to do while sleeping, but the more you practice it while awake, the more it becomes possible while asleep.
  • Consider a nasal decongestant before sleep, if congestion is a problem for you, as that can help too.

For more of the science of these, see:

Cultivating Lifestyle Transformations in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

There are more medical options available not discussed here, too:

American Sleep Apnea Association | Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

Take care!

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  • Crispy Tofu Pad Thai

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Easy to make, delicious to enjoy, and packed with phytonutrients, this dish is a great one to add to your repertoire:

    You will need

    • 10 oz ready-to-wok rice noodles, or 6 oz dry
    • 5 oz silken tofu
    • 5 oz firm or extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
    • 1 oz arrowroot (or cornstarch if you don’t have arrowroot)
    • 4 scallions, sliced
    • ¼ bulb garlic, finely chopped
    • 1″ piece fresh ginger, grated
    • 1 red chili, chopped (multiply per your heat preferences)
    • 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
    • 4 oz bok choi, thinly sliced
    • 4 oz mung bean sprouts
    • 1 tbsp tamari (or other, but tamari is traditional) soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
    • Juice of ½ lime
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
    • Avocado oil, or your preferred oil for stir-frying
    • To serve: lime wedges
    • Optional garnish: crushed roasted peanuts (if allergic, substitute sesame seeds; peanuts are simply traditional, that’s all)

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Scramble the silken tofu. For guidance and also additional seasoning pointers, see our Tasty Tofu Scramble recipe, but omit the thyme.

    2) Cook the noodles if necessary (i.e. if they are the dry type and need boiling, as opposed to “ready-to-wok” noodles that don’t), drain, and set aside.

    4) Prepare the tofu cubes: if the tofu cubes are dry to the touch, toss them gently in a little oil to coat. If they’re wet to the touch, no need. Dust the tofu cubes with the arrowroot and MSG/salt; you can do this in a bowl, tossing gently to distribute the coating evenly.

    4) Heat some oil in a wok over a high heat, and fry the tofu on each side until golden and crispy all over, and set aside.

    5) Stir-fry the scallions, garlic, ginger, chili, and bell pepper for about 2 minutes.

    6) Add the bean sprouts and bok choi, and keep stir-frying for another 2 minutes.

    7) Add everything that’s not already in the pan except the lime wedges and peanuts (i.e., add the things you set aside, plus the remaining as-yet-untouched ingredients) and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.

    8) Serve hot, garnished with the crushed peanuts if using, and with the lime wedges on the side:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

    Share This Post

  • Energize! – by Dr. Michael Breus & Stacey Griffith

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    We previously reviewed another book book by Dr. Breus, The Power Of When. So what’s different in this one?

    While the chronotypes featured in The Power Of When also feature here (and sufficient explanation is given to make this a fine stand-alone book), this book has a lot to do with metabolism also. By considering a person’s genetically predisposed metabolic rate to be fast, medium, or slow (per being an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph), and then putting that next to one’s sleep chronotype, we get 12 sub-categories that in this book each get an optimized protocol of sleep, exercise (further divided into: what kind of exercise when), and eating/fasting.

    Which, in effect, amounts to a personalized coaching program for optimized energy!

    The guidance is based on a combination of actual science plus “if this then that” observation-based principles—of the kind that could be described as science if they had been studied clinically instead of informally. Dr. Breus is a sleep scientist, by the way, and his co-author Stacey Griffith is a fitness coach. So between the two of them, they have sleep and exercise covered, and the fasting content is very reasonable and entirely consistent with current consensus of good practice.

    The style is very pop-psychology, and very readable, and has a much more upbeat feel than The Power Of When, which seems to be because of Griffith’s presence as a co-author (most of the book is written from a neutral perspective, and some parts have first-person sections by each of the authors, so the style becomes distinct accordingly).

    Bottom line: if you’d like to be more energized but [personal reason why not here] then this book may not fix all your problems, but it’ll almost certainly make a big difference and help you to stop sabotaging things and work with your body rather than against it.

    Click here to check out Energize!, and do just that!

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  • Is ADHD Being Over-Diagnosed For Cash?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Is ADHD Being Systematically Overdiagnosed?

    The BBC’s investigative “Panorama” program all so recently did a documentary in which one of their journalists—who does not have ADHD—went to three private clinics and got an ADHD diagnosis from each of them:

    So… Is it really a case of show up, pay up, and get a shiny new diagnosis?

    The BBC Panorama producers cherry-picked 3 private providers, and during those clinical assessments, their journalist provided answers that would certainly lead to a diagnosis.

    This was contrasted against a three-hour assessment with an NHS psychiatrist—something that rarely happens in the NHS. Which prompts the question…

    How did he walk into a 3-hour psychiatrist assessment, when most people have to wait in long waiting lists for a much more cursory appointment first with assorted gatekeepers, before going on another long waiting list, for an also-much-shorter appointment with a psychiatrist?

    That would be because the NHS psychiatrist was given advance notification that this was part of an investigation and would be filmed (the private clinics were not gifted the same transparency)

    So, maybe just a tad unequal treatment!

    In case you’re wondering, here’s what that very NHS psychiatrist had to say on the topic:

    Is it really too easy to be diagnosed with ADHD?

    (we’ll give you a hint—remember Betteridge’s Law!)

    ❝Since the documentary aired, I have heard from people concerned that GPs could now be more likely to question legitimate diagnoses.

    But as an NHS psychiatrist it is clear to me that the root of this issue is not overdiagnosis.

    Instead, we are facing the combined challenges of remedying decades of underdiagnosis and NHS services that were set up when there was little awareness of ADHD.❞

    ~ Dr. Mike Smith, Psychiatrist

    The ADHD foundation, meanwhile, has issued its own response, saying:

    ❝We are disappointed that BBC Panorama has opted to broadcast a poorly researched, sensationalist piece of television journalism.❞

    Click here to read their full statement!

    Share This Post

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  • How an Idaho vaccine advocacy org plans its annual goals
  • Using the”Task Zero” approach

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Jonathan Frakes Asks You Things” Voice:

    • Do you ever find yourself in a room and wonder what you’re doing there?
    • Or set about a to-do list, but get quickly distracted by side-quests?
    • Finally get through to a person in a call center, they ask how they can help, and your mind goes blank?
    • Go to the supermarket and come out with six things, none of which were the one you came for?

    This is a “working memory” thing and you’re not alone. There’s a trick that can help keep you on track more often than not:

    Don’t try to overburden your working memory. It is very limited (this goes for everyone to a greater or lesser degree). Instead, hold only two tasks at once:

    • Task zero (what you are doing right now)
    • Task one (your next task)

    When you’ve completed task zero, task one becomes the new task zero, and you can populate a new task one from your to-do list.

    This way, you will always know what you’re doing right now, and what you’re doing next, and your focus will be so intent on task zero, that you will not get sidetracked by task seventeen!

    Happy focusing

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • Rose Hips vs Blueberries – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing rose hips to blueberries, we picked the rose hips.

    Why?

    Both of these fruits are abundant sources of antioxidants and other polyphenols, but one of them stands out for overall nutritional density:

    In terms of macros, rose hips have about 2x the carbohydrates, and/but about 10x the fiber. That’s an easy calculation and a clear win for rose hips.

    When it comes to vitamins, rose hips have a lot more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, E, K, and choline. On the other hand, blueberries boast more of vitamins B1 and B9. That’s a 9:2 lead for rose hips, even before we consider rose hips’ much greater margins of difference (kicking off with 80x the vitamin A, for instance, and many multiples of many of the others).

    In the category of minerals, rose hips have a lot more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Meanwhile, blueberries are not higher in any minerals.

    In short: as ever, enjoy both, but if you’re looking for nutritional density, there’s a clear winner here and it’s rose hips.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    It’s In The Hips: Rosehip’s Benefits, Inside & Out

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

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  • Uric Acid’s Extensive Health Impact (And How To Lower It)

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Uric Acid’s Extensive Health Impact (And How To Lower It)

    This is Dr. David Perlmutter. He’s a medical doctor, and a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He’s a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, and has been widely published in many other peer-reviewed journals.

    What does he want us to know?

    He wants us to know about the health risks of uric acid (not something popularly talked about so much!), and how to reduce it.

    First: what is it? Uric acid is a substance we make in our own body. However, unlike most substances we make in our body, we have negligible use for it—it’s largely a waste product, usually excreted in urine.

    However, if we get too much, it can build up (and crystallize), becoming such things as kidney stones, or causing painful inflammation if it shows up in the joints, as in gout.

    More seriously (unpleasant as kidney stones and gout may be), this inflammation can have a knock-on effect triggering (or worsening) other inflammatory conditions, ranging from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, to arthritis, to dementia, and even heart problems. See for example:

    How can we reduce our uric acid levels?

    Uric acid is produced when we metabolize purine nucleotides, which are found in many kinds of food. We can therefore reduce our uric acid levels by reducing our purine intake, as well as things that mess up our liver’s ability to detoxify things. Offsetting the values for confounding variables (such as fiber content, or phytochemicals that mitigate the harm), the worst offenders include…

    Liver-debilitating things:

    • Alcohol (especially beer)
    • High-fructose corn syrup (and other fructose-containing things that aren’t actual fruit)
    • Other refined sugars
    • Wheat / white flour products (this is why beer is worse than wine, for example; it’s a double-vector hit)

    Purine-rich things:

    • Red meats and game
    • Organ meats
    • Oily fish, and seafood (great for some things; not great for this)

    Some beans and legumes are also high in purines, but much like real fruit has a neutral or positive effect on blood sugar health despite its fructose content, the beans and legumes that are high in purines, also contain phytochemicals that help lower uric acid levels, so have a beneficial effect.

    Eggs (consumed in moderation) and tart cherries have a uric-acid lowering effect.

    Water is important for all aspects of health, and doubly important for this.

    Hydrate well!

    Lifestyle matters beyond diet

    The main key here is metabolic health, so Dr. Perlmutter advises the uncontroversial lifestyle choices of moderate exercise and good sleep, as well as (more critically) intermittent fasting. We wrote previously on other things that can benefit liver health:

    How To Unfatty A Fatty Liver

    …in this case, that means the liver gets a break to recuperate (something it’s very good at, but does need to get a chance to do), which means that while you’re not giving it something new to do, it can quickly catch up on any backlog, and then tackle any new things fresh, next time you start eating.

    Want to know more about this from Dr. Perlmutter?

    You might like his article:

    An Integrated Plan for Lowering Uric Acid ← more than we had room for here; he also talks about extra things to include in your diet/supplementation regime for beneficial effects!

    And/or his book:

    Drop Acid: The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid―The Key to Losing Weight, Controlling Blood Sugar, and Achieving Extraordinary Health

    …on which much of today’s main feature was based.

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails: