- “The freight train of death, na..na……shhhhh.”
~ Cynthia G. Creel
Atlanta, Georgia! We were going to Atlanta, the city with all the southern hospitality. Soon we would be walk into the Atlanta Marriott Marquis (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) was an incredible way to start the business/vacation. Stepping from the taxi, having the luggage loaded onto a cart and moving into the large room brightly colored room with variations of reds and oranges and the eyes grabbed by the sight of the glass elevator breathtaking 47 story atrium surrounded by a wave of lines created by individual floors culminated in a life size working piece of art. (6)
The excitement bubbled over into conversations with other travelers of what we would be doing in Atlanta. Which gave way to a statement from an older man, “I hate to fly all night I never can sleep on the plane, too much noise.” John and I looked at each other and in unison stated a plain Jane fact, “We can sleep anywhere, just give us 5 minutes and it’s lights out.” Never mind the snoring that would soon follow, for the one’s who snore never hear themselves in their sleep.
It was true, if I was in a car, train or plane I could fall asleep, almost nothing could stop me. We stepped on to the plane, scurried down the isle to our seat and waited for take off. Back then everyone received a meal, not that great, but something to fill the insides during the next 5 hour flight.
We talked, we laughed and right on schedule we rested our heads and slept. As my eyes closed, I could barely hear the roar of the engines and the freight train next to me. The thought came to me, “Oh that’s John snoring, I wonder who will be loudest, me or him?”
I knew I was just as bad as John, once I was asleep, the snoring wasn’t far behind. I was truly my fathers own daughter and sounded like him awake or asleep with the sounds of the rumblings of snoring. Of course my father at this time had not died yet of a heart attack that wouldn’t happen for another 10 years, leaving me an adult orphan, with me and my brothers being the oldest in our family hierarchy. A great loss of experience and knowledge including the unconditional love that could only came from a parent.
That freight train was so loud when John had to share a room with some one else, he would tell the other person, “You need to go to sleep before me, so you will be able to go to sleep, I sound like a freight train when I sleep, snoring you know. Sorry, just a fact”
The thought that this snoring was no more than a nuisance never occurred to anyone. We tried many ways to eliminate it and the most common was if I woke up, was to push him until he rolled over. There had to be something more to this snoring than anyone had thought, why do some snore and others don’t? It seemed like it could be a big deal, but everyone said it wasn’t a big deal, so I sleep on without really trying to do anything about it. Even the amount of time we slept seemed to be a shorter amount than what we should be getting. It all seemed fine, although that thought stayed with me, making me wonder.
Our family would grow from just John and I to 2 little girls, perfect in every way, 10 fingers and 10 toes. It did not take long before they became their parent’s children and could sleep anywhere and eventually snore anywhere also. The girls were not overweight like us, they had healthy reports from the doctors. It was kind of cute to hear the soft snoring of a 3 year old in a way, yet it was disturbing, why would a young child snore? I could only wonder for the time being and hope that this would not steal away the ones I loved the most.
I know now there is always a reason why, we just don’t always understand the why or how. A hint that we most likely had a health risk from our snoring was reported in an Oxford study from the Harvard School of Public Health, that started in 1986 over a 8 year follow up including over 7,500 incident cases of physician-diagnosed hypertensions that “These data suggest that snoring may increase risk of hypertension in women, independent of age, body mass index, waist circumference, and other lifestyle factors.” being accepted on February 8, 1999. This information was never passed on to me by any doctor ever, not even my cardiologist. Without this and other warning signs I would be totally unaware of the difficulties to come in my life. The chance to change, before there were obvious signs would pass to greater signs that could not be ignored.
Other hints would come along and would help me understand, but not before I had major medical issues. In 2012 a new study from Mosca M and Aggarwal B., Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA gave us a hint that the amount of sleep was important, “Sleeping less than 6 hours per night was associated with several traditional and psychosocial cardiovascular disease or CVD ( risk factors, and snoring was associated with low HDL-C level, likely mediated through overweight/obesity. These data may have significance for health care providers to identify individuals who may be at increased CVD risk” based on sleep habits.” (2)
The conclusion of the study could only say this new information gave us a hint of what was going on in the body, but not the reason why. I had to agree with the Franklin and Marshall College study, “These data may have significance for health care providers to identify individuals who may be at increased CVD risk based on sleep habits.” This is another arrow in my quiver of knowledge to prevent and self correct.
There had to be more to the answer of the actual effects of less sleep and CVD, the common factor in my snoring. The web of life is interesting in the way everything in the body is connected. That the signs of the bodies abilities to function normally are present well before a major problem. That signs are just a strong indicator there is a problem, the more signs the higher risk there could be. John and I both fit into the less then 6 hours of sleep and over the years we were becoming more and more unhealthy, although if you had asked us, we would of said we felt fine most of the time.
The why there is snoring gives a much clear picture of what is happening in the body. From Henry Ford Heath Systems article Snoring May be Early Sign of Future Health Risks, January 24, 2012, “Snoring thickens the lining of the two large blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygenated blood, this is known as atherosclerosis.” (4)
Later in life I would lie in bed an listen to John just breath, and where there is snoring that often times means there is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This I knew was a health risk and men died of it. Over the years I would wake up and listen to John’s breathing and hoping there wasn’t that extra long pause before the next deep breath created by a body that was in desperate need of oxygen. The newest study tells me there is a relationship I didn’t understand before, that tells a story the body is whispering. Science World Reports “…cardiovascular disease has long been associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but according to this new study (read study author Dr. Robert Deeb, with the department of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery at Henry Ford said in a press statement.), risk of cardiovascular diseases triggers with onset of snoring, much before OSA.” (3)
The body will whisper until it is hear and if it is never heard death will soon follow. The chance to correct the obvious is ignored with the body and minds ability to preformed normally interfered with. I am thankful everyday I have a greater knowledge to understand the language of the body to self correct before there is a real problem. I am always remained of the loss of many, the loss of my father with the snores coming from his room or couch, to the loss that could have been John or how close to the brush of death was for me narrowly avoiding a heart attack that could have easily taken me away from my family, which would have made me unable to help anyone, not even myself.
Today I carry some of my father’s looks just not the freight train of death, the loud snoring that was one of the many signs he was headed for a heart attack which took his life 30 or so years too early. The loud snoring that was a sign I was on the same train tracks as my father had been. Only I would have most likely reached it the end of the line 20 years before my father, just like my father reached the end of the line about 20 years before his parents.
The path can be changed, I have changed my path to True Health, step on and have the ride of your life. It is your choice.
By Design ~ “Life is good By Design.”
1-29-2013 all rights reserved ©2013
Photo by Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
On the By Design Farm, summer of 2012, purple pod beans growing in abundance.
1-29-2013
all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered.
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Photo below: On the By Design Farm, summer of 2012, purple pod beans growing in abundance.
Links:
(1) http://www.cbsnews.com/
(2) http://
(3) http://
(4)http://www.henryford.com/
(5) http://
(7) http://www.marriott.com/
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