The press made all kinds of accusations about Michael Jackson’s difficulty in sleeping. In my opinion, Mr Jackson had sleep apnea. the term apnea means no air. It refers to blockabe of the airway so that there are periods of not breathing.
In Sleep Apnea, less blood goes to the brain. Hypertension and daytime drowsiness is part of the sleep apnea condition. Because the breathing is blocked in sleep, there is poor sleep and drowsiness the next day, with reduced mental ability. Sleep apnea patients eat candy the next day to gain energy; others take medication to wake up and be able to perform normally. The FDA has approved a “wake up” pill specifically to treat the drowsiness of sleep apnea patients. Death is a known complication of sleep apnea.
The CDC – Communicable Disease Center – reports that twenty percent of traffic accidents are caused by poor sleep. The drivers are too sleepy for safe driving.
Recent studies show that persons with sleep apnea get four times more cancer than others. It is speculated that because the brain isn’t receiving enough oxygen, the body makes new blood vessels. These new blood vessels go to young cells and those are the dormant cancer cells.
One cause of sleep apnea is poor nasal airway. In examining pictures of Michael Jackson, one sees an impaired nasal valve, the entrance of air to the nose. Ordinarily I treat a collapsed nasal valve, where the sides of the nose are weak and collapse on inhalation as part of the cause of sleep apnea. In my opinion, based on these pictures, Michael Jackson had sleep apnea. That was the cause of his difficulty in falling asleep. The press made unfortunate accusation about him. “He looked tired. He seemed unaware of where he was. He was slow to answer. “ These and other “observations” are characteristic of the sleep apnea patients doctors see daily.
Sleep apnea is a serious problem and would cause the difficulties that Michael Jackson had. I would guess that it was sleep apnea that caused his death, as it does for others.
The lesson here is that if the nasal valve is causing the sleep apnea, look for solutions such as taping the nose up to open the nasal valve and correcting any factors that impede a good airway.
Despite the hurtful accusations of the press, Sleep Apnea is a medical condition, and is no more caused by “misbehavior,” than is having a cancer or a club foot. If, as I believe, Michael Jackson’s difficulties were due to Sleep Apnea, if this were realized, then his legacy would be unburdened, and more persons with sleep apnea would seek relief.