On average, most people spend about a third of their life asleep, which equates to around one hundred and twenty two days in a year, and twenty-five years in a seventy-five-year lifetime. Because such a big part of our lives is spent in sleep, and because it is clearly a highly orchestrated process, with everyone following the same stages of sleep in an organised fashion, then sleep must have a definite purpose.

This idea is supported by observing that adequate, sound sleep creates a sense of well-being and mental clarity that is badly missed when sleep is not long enough, broken, filled with nightmares, or simply not refreshing.  When sleep is disrupted the body automatically selects more of the sleep stage that has been missed out on, and when poor sleep is a regular occurrence, the person starts to crave a 'good night's sleep'.

“A friend of mine learned Buteyko for his asthma and he told me that he was sleeping a lot better. I also saw a programme about Buteyko on TV where people said that they felt better, so with some scepticism I decided to give it a try. To my amazement, it was just like the literature said: within two weeks I was waking up feeling as if I had actually been sleeping, and my snoring had dropped considerably.  Also, I don’t have all that neck, back and shoulder pain that I used to have. I go to bed later now because I don't seem to be tired as early in the evening, and yet nine times out of ten I still wake up in the morning feeling great! Buteyko mightn’t be the answer for everybody, but it certainly works for me.” Joy