Do you sleep with someone who snores, or has sleep apnea? I do. My husband could wake the dead, or join them. My husband was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea 3 or 4 years ago now. We purchased a CPAP; the doctor would not let us leave without having one for him to use. The sleep test told us that for every minute my husband slept, 35 seconds was spent NOT BREATHING. That’s more time NOT breathing than breathing!
SCARY!!
But he’s lived with this all his life. His dad (I don’t know if he’s been diagnosed officially) has it too! These men sounds like they are dying when they are sleeping. Others who have shared sleeping spaces with my husband have absolutely no idea how I sleep through the racket every night.
Jason tried to use the CPAP machine; we visited the doctor a number of times, trying to get the settings correct; tried new and different styles of masks; changed the levels of humidity. After a year of fits and starts, Jason finally gave up. He hasn’t even attempted to wear the machine in years. (And now of course it’s burnt in our house fire and needs to be replaced.) A few months before the fire, Jason had been mentioning that he wanted to try again.
In the meantime, I looked in my Reference Guide for Essential Oils to see if there were an oils / blends suggested for sleep apnea. There was!!!
Valor Essential Oil Blend.
Valor® is an empowering combination of therapeutic-grade essential oils that works with both the physical and spiritual aspects of the body to increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity. Renowned for its strengthening qualities, Valor enhances an individual's internal resources. It has also been found to help energy alignment in the body.
We used the Valor you see on the left for a while but then have recently discovered the roll-on (to the right).
And we love it!
The roll-on bottle is so easy to use! I just “paint” Jason’s feet with it. The Reference Guide to Essential Oils says to use 6 drops on each foot every night. When we are too tired, or just simply forget, it’s not long into the night that I am waking Jason up to put Valor on his feet.
Without the Valor, Jason has what I call a “death snore”. When I imitate the sound, the children roar with laughter, so I’ll spare you that, but I can’t sleep as well when he’s in “death snore” mode and that’s why I get him up. At first, Jason didn’t notice the difference from one day to the next; he was still tired all the time. Until one night I actually got through the whole night when he hadn’t applied the oil, he realized what a difference it was making for him. Whenever he slowed down that day, he was falling asleep – at the table, on the couch, while talking with the kids or me. Since then, he’s really made a point to apply Valor to his feet each and every night.
We still plan to replace his CPAP machine in the near future and will continue to use this essential oil blend after the machine arrives. In the meantime though, I am more confident that my husband will not stop breathing completely while he sleep beside me.
For more information about sleep apnea, check out the following sites:
Sleep Apnea (Mayo Clinic)
What is Sleep Apnea? (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute)
American Sleep Apnea Association I have not explored this site; when we were researching J’s diagnosis, I didn’t find it; I will be interested to see what they have available now!
Wikipedia – Sleep Apnea One thing that caught my eye on this site is an alternative treatment – learn to play the didgeridoo. (2005 study)
For more information about Valor or other essential oils, you can contact me and I’d be happy to answer any questions or comments you might have.
Remember, I’m not a health care professional; I’m just telling you what is working for us!
Striving to learn and live God's purposes, 
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