According to a recent article in the UK Guardian Newspaper, the current epidemic of insufficient sleep can impact us in many ways. Here are just a few:

1. The World Health Organization recommends eight hours of nightly sleep to stay healthy, yet over two-thirds of adults in the developed world don’t meet this target.

2. Below 6.75 hours of sleep reduces our life expectancy into the 60’s unless we receive expensive medical support as we age.

3. Men who sleep below this level have a reduction in sperm count by 29% on average.

4. Chances of bad car accidents explode if you are sleep deprived – by over 4 times if you get less than 5 hours of sleep, and over 11 times (!) if you get less than four hours.

5. There are more than 100 diagnosed sleep disorders.

6. Athletic stamina can drop by up to 30% when sleep-time dips below 6 hours.

7. If you are a “morning type” then you are like 40% of the population; night-owls make up 30%, and the rest, somewhere in between.

Clinical evidence has shown that correcting poor breathing habits can help us improve our sleep quality. First it helps by calming anxiety, a major cause of insomnia. Second, better breathing control can help alleviate snoring and sleep disturbed breathing.