There is one product on the market that seems to meet the objectives discussed herein. It is Sleep Apnea Relief from Nature’s Rite. This product combines the advantages of Lobelia, Thyme, Chamomile and Cramp Bark in such a way as to produce a combined and pre-dosed capsule of herbs that can be used before going to sleep.
The combination of lobelia, meadowsweet, chamomile, thyme and cramp bark enhances respiration and reduces the frequency and severity of breathing cessations.
Since the Lobelia and Thyme work to increase the intensity of respiration, this combination works directly to provide steady breathing. The user doesn’t have to take it for a month to get results. It will usually be noticeable in the first night of use.
Oftentimes, the first night or two of use offers the most dramatic demonstration. The user is REM-deprived and sleep-deprived in general due to the sleep disorder. After taking the Sleep Apnea Relief, the user gets his first good night’s sleep, many times better than they have experienced for a prolonged period of time and feels much more relaxed and rested as early as the next morning.
Then, after taking the product for a while, users are regularly getting better sleep and this may result in an appearance that the product may not be working. Actually, they are simply getting regularly sound sleep for the first time in a long time and so the “sensed improvement” is not fully recognized due to a baseline sleep quality improvement.
It is suggested that the Nature’s Rite herbal treatment be taken for a four-week period to fully test its effectiveness. With the initial use of Sleep Apnea Relief, the reduction in sleep cessations allows the patient to move efficiently through Stage II sleep into REM sleep.
Sleep apnea would have hindered this transition. With the relief from sleep apnea, the sleeper will tend to exhibit “REM rebound.” This situation occurs when the body has been consistently deprived of sufficient REM sleep for an extended period of time.
The sleeper will then spend excessive periods in REM sleep for a few nights. This causes a reduction in Delta sleep (Stages III and IV) and can actually cause the patient to become not as rested as would be expected or usual.
This is often referred to as a “REM rebound.” After a week or two, the normal sleep patterns are restored and proper amounts of REM and Delta sleep are experienced again.
All of these responses simultaneously occur while the normal variations of sleep quality are affecting the quality of the patient’s life. The patient may have restless leg problems, leg cramps, an active (disruptive) sleep partner (or worse a sleep partner with sleep apnea and/or a ‘snorer’), food allergies, sinus problems or any number of other conditions.
All of these other disturbing influences make it difficult for a person to achieve normal sleep patterns or to make a quality assessment with regard to the improvement in the sleep apnea condition itself.
It is therefore best take the herbal solution for a month and then compare major symptoms like energy and drowsiness during the day to assess the improvement. It is also important for the patient to continue with any other medications or herbs that he is taking to support healthy sleep during this period. The herbs of Sleep Apnea Relief are designed only to address the sleep apnea problem.
An alternative assessment method is to have a sleep partner observe the sleeping patient. The partner can then watch for breathing cessations directly. It is not unusual for breathing to diminish, but stoppages of greater than 10 seconds followed by a rapid (often loud and snorting) inhalation can easily be observed.
Direct observation by a sleep partner can be used to verify cessations before the product is used and then on the next evening, when this combination of herbs is in use.