It was a great meeting at The Pirates House! Ed Engel gave a Rotary Foundation minute and talked about key ways you can give money to the Foundation as well as all the different giving levels. President Laura Lane McKinnon mentioned she is working on the slate of officers for next year. If you would like to serve on the RCSE Board, please contact Laura Lane. Once all business items were discussed, our speaker for the day, Reneta Nehme, spoke about sleep disordered breathing in children.
Reneta says that we spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. Sleep is necessary and the number of hours we need varies by age. Sleep disordered breathing is a general term for breathing difficulties during sleep that involves a disruption in airflow patterns. It can be particularly detrimental to a child's overall wellbeing. If the person next to you can hear you breathing, then there is a strong likelihood that something is wrong with your airflow. Simple habits that improve sleep are good nasal flow, good nasal hygiene, better tongue position, and keeping your lips together. Expanding the roof of your mouth can help with breathing as well. Reneta mentioned that there should be no screens (tv, iPad, etc) at least an hour before bed time. One way to help children breathe better while sleeping is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy which is Reneta's specialty. Myofunctional therapy addresses the root cause of mouth breathing by encouraging optimum oral rest posture—with lips closed, teeth closed, and the tongue resting gently against the roof of the mouth. The ideal oral rest posture encourages nasal breathing, which over time, can reshape your face. To learn more about Reneta and sleep disordered breathing, please visit https://airwaycircle.com