Trouble sleeping can be very frustrating because of how it makes a person feel. While there is a lot of help available for these issues, many people ignore the problem and do nothing about it. Since a sleep disorder is not considered a big problem, checking into a center for sleep disorders doesn’t even cross the sufferers mind. Instead a person suffering from sleep problems goes to the store and relies on a sleeping aid. For small sleeping issues a sleeping aid can be all that is needed. However, it can result in very negative results when a serious sleeping condition is present. The reason why disorders are so misunderstood and overlooked is because the effects cannot be visually seen or repaired. A center for sleep disorders deals with these unseen dangers regularly and knows what to look for. They can be more helpful than a regular doctor when it comes to diagnosis and treatment.

The Negative Affects of Sleep Apnea

The symptoms of sleep apnea are not very obvious and a person with this particular disorder can go a long time without ever knowing they have a problem. Daytime tiredness and irritability are often the only symptoms seen and can be attributed to many other sources. Snoring and other symptoms that occur while asleep are not as easily identified unless another party observes them. Apnea is not a condition that will go away on its own. It can weaken your immune system and make you more vulnerable to illnesses and harmful diseases. Increased fatigue will put you at risk for driving and job related accidents. Your home life can be affected. Serious health problem such as high blood pressure and heart complications are likely. Over time, nightly sleep loss resulting from this condition can lead to mental health issues. The problems are abundant and can all be prevented if apnea is detected. Sleep apnea symptoms can be reduced with the right treatment.

What You Can Expect At a Sleep Apnea Clinic

A sleep apnea clinic or center offers testing and treatment plans for individuals who may have apnea. Sleep studies are performed to determine what is causing the condition. Medicine can be prescribed for certain sleep problems. Apnea often requires surgery, a mouth device, or a machine for treatment. A questionnaire is given during the first visit and is used to get a general idea of the problem. You will be evaluated by a well qualified team that consists of physicians, psychologists, and surgeons. A pediatrician may be included on the team for children being diagnosed. Patients are given an initial interview along with psychological testing. If a diagnosis cannot be made from this information, you will have to stay overnight or for a few days for further testing. A sleep apnea clinic will record sleep patterns and occurrences to obtain a more precise diagnosis. Treatment are presented by a specialist and then started as soon as possible for the most efficient results. Participating in testing can result in a much faster diagnosis and the best treatment.

My 44th birthday started with a lovely wake-up kiss from my husband. As I rolled over to receive a hug, I felt a sharp twinge under my right shoulder blade. Within a half hour, the twinge escalated to an ever-present ache which would oscillate between a dull throb and a breath-stealing pain. I did what I could with stretching and a hot water bottle to relieve the pain, but it persisted. I felt frustrated, disappointed, and angry because I had reserved the day to exchange yoga therapy sessions something I had not done for myself in years! My body was giving my clear signals that I could not give a session, but maybe, just maybe, could I be open to the possibility of simply receiving one? When I called to speak my truth about my predicament, Kirsten was more than willing to adjust our plans.

As I lay back to receive, I realized that the quality and quantity of the ache had transformed. Rather than being annoyed at the pain, doing my best to either fight it or make it go away, I was now lying back and bringing my curious awareness to it… allowing it to be… wondering about it. And in that moment, I opened to the contrast between my right achy and left silent sides of my body. Surprisingly, my right side felt relaxed, grounded and open despite the occasional twinge, while my left side felt like an over-inflated air mattress… forced into tense rigidity by too much. My left side felt old, artificially propped up… while my right side felt new and fluid. And insight blossomed.

These past 6 months, since discovering a tender, hard spot in my left breast (diagnosed as a benign cyst), followed by the diagnosis of my husband’s leukemia, followed by euthanizing my beloved dog, have been a dedicated expedition for me… a spiritual expedition to overcome my addiction to living my life exhausted and overwhelmed… a quest to discover an open, easeful, flowing way of being in my mind, body and spirit. I’ve titled this expedition “Say Yes to Me”. While I have been very aware of light-speed growth in mind and spirit, this ache today brought my awareness to those parts of my body that had made the shift and those parts that still need help to shift. The pain actually arose from the newness of being… growing pains, if you will. Had I chosen to follow my preferred strategy of “tensing to block it; ignoring it; or numbing myself from it”, I would have lost the chance to reflect on how far I’ve come… to savor where I am now… on my birthday, no less!

At one point, Kirsten lifted me into supported Cobra. Normally, Cobra challenges my lower back which limits my range of movement, but with support, I have a completely different experience of this pose. My arms were extended behind me, grasping hers offered in support, my back deeply bowed, my chest lifted and facing forward… I felt like I was soaring. And in that moment, I had a full-being experience of the metaphysical aspect of Cobra: “I arise effortlessly to face life’s challenges.” And the reality is that each time I choose to reach out and grasp the support that surrounds me in my daily life, I am able to soar… I am able to arise effortlessly to face life. Immense gratitude poured through me as I connected with a whole-body experience of the lightness that I have been experiencing recently throughout my personal and professional life.

The ache stayed with me throughout the day… occasionally lapsing to silence… emerging whenever I would try to WORK. So I chose to spend the day doing things I normally don’t do in the middle of the week. Oh, the wondrous ways my Spirit coaxes me to step out of my self-imposed cage of expectations!

And when I woke up the next morning, the ache was gone. Quite a memorable birthday present if you ask me!

After 15 years in corporate finance and now as an entrepreneur growing a mind-body wellness service, Meenal K Kelkar, MBA, CYT, CPRYT, CTYT has personal experience with how difficult it can be to quiet an active mind. To incorporate meditation into a busy lifestyle, she has developed Mpowerment Meditations, a set of tools that are pragmatic, practical and accessible. Meenal is certified with over 1,000 hours of training in yoga therapy, a rapidly growing field where therapeutic yogic techniques and concepts are applied to the modern lifestyle to support clients in their movement towards wellness.

Meenal serves on the advisory board of the Camarillo Health Care District’s Healthy Attitudes, and teaches throughout Ventura County, California. She has helped corporate clients introduce Mpowerment Meditation tools into employee wellness programs and the corporate strategic planning process. Meenal is a regular contributor to Healthy Attitudes magazine and most recently, Green Home and Family magazine.