Breathless Sleep...No More
A Compelling Case Study: Second Edition
Breathless Sleep…No More is an alternative treatment success story designed to inspire those who are also struggling with sleep apnea.
Paul Rodriguez’s personalized wellness book Breathless Sleep…No More champions the Buteyko breathing method for sleep apnea.
The book’s recommendations are centered by Rodriguez’s own experiences. It is revealed that he struggled with myriad health problems, including constant fatigue that caused him to fall asleep at the wheel. The book estimates that he suffered from sleep apnea for a decade before being diagnosed. It also shares how a sleep specialist recommended a Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine, which helps to reduce repeated stops and starts in breathing during sleep. While the book asserts that the CPAP resulted in some relief and results, it is also presented as a tethering force. Reluctance to wear it each night led to a later exploration of the Buteyko breathing method—a nonmedical treatment for sleep issues.
As an individual case study, the book includes in-depth personal details about Rodriguez’s health before and after his severe sleep apnea diagnosis. These details include anecdotal recollections about how his quality of sleep and life improved after he began using Buteyko breathing, complemented by copies of sleep study reports from before and after he personally adopted the technique that illustrate improvements with measurable data.
The text avoids medical jargon in favor of clear explanations and real-world examples. Its claims are supported with factual evidence from his medical reports. But some of the included clinical research is too dated; the book’s citations of research and reports from the 1980s impede it, even though this second edition includes studies from the last few years, too.
While it isn’t meant to be a comprehensive guide to Buteyko breathing, the book is without enough of the basic details that are necessary to understanding how the technique works in practice, even for understanding why it might work as a treatment for sleep apnea and other breathing disorders. An appendix includes a faded photocopy of a Buteyko breathing chart, but the chart is difficult to read and understand. Next to the book’s detailed sleep studies, glossary, and tidy footnotes, it is a crude and unhelpful supplement.
Passionate as it relates a personal path toward better sleep, Paul Rodriguez’s Breathless Sleep…No More is an alternative treatment success story designed to inspire those who are also struggling with sleep apnea.
Reviewed by
Charlene Oldham
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
