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\The Waterloo Chronicle is published ] every Wednesday by the Fairway Group, owned by CityMedia Group |Inc . a subsichary of Torstar Corp The content of this paper is protected by kmpyngnmdmaybeuscdmm‘wl Qypenomlnonmnumrcnlpmp(ms All other rights are reserved and | _ commercial use is prohubited To | make use of this matenal you must ? first obtain the permission of the WATERLOO CHRONICLE composing@waterloochronicle.ca 279 Weber St., North, Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 owner of the copynight Phone: 886â€"2830 Fax: 886â€"9383 www waterloochronicle.ca editonial@waterloochronicle.ca The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessanly represent those of the newspapet Canadian Pubbcations Mail Sates Prod hob Leasctmer Uwexne i edendort {nternational Standard Seial Number ISSN 0832â€"3410 Andrea Bailes Bob \ thatias Editor, Ext. 215. Sports Editor, tri. 228 Manager. Ext. 230 . Sales. Exi. 223 (Copynght in letrers and other marenals submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publ ation remains with the author t the publisher and is brenseres may freek. reprodtacr ther in print electronw or orher derms Our m adtine addrisccns +94 Wisber St N wigned with name address and phone number and wall he certfied for accuracy No unsigned etters will he in priint efer tromhe dn DWP M mailing addrews i0 Weber Oour 20 Waterion NT 1P Germ Mathice Norma ( vca The Waterine Chromale welcomes letters ta the hdrtor They should be published. Submassions may be edited fot bength so please he hraef Bob Zarzvcls Bill Pihura Letters Policy en t 7 Ext. 222 Sales, Ext. 228 uct Agreementi Number YA Audited ns _ crculanion 27.538 Mart Mibler was shocked recently when one of the NFL‘s Igrea!est defensive players of allâ€"time Reggie White died at the young age of 43 due to the a combination of sleep apnea and other factors. It shocked me mostly because last year I too was diagnosed with sleep apnea. And it really hit me how, if it isn‘t property treated., it can lead to all sorts of health problems. Sleep apnea. for those unfamiliar with the term, is a sleeping disorder where the sufferer has brief interruptions to their breathing during their sleep. Classic symptoms include heavy snoring folowed by periods of total silence where the person holds his or her breath. Longâ€"term impacts of sleep apnea include irregâ€" ular heartbeat, high blood pressure. heart attack and stroke. If not caught earty, the lack of deep. restoraâ€" tive sleep could cause seriâ€" ous health problems, if not ;@iemesaazzzzze premature death. WISE When sleeping is the enemy It was that total silence more than 60 times an hour that most frightened my wife. Tara. as I would stop breathing for up to a minute at a time. That led to a host of other sympâ€" toms like insomnia. waking dreams and fitful sleep. There were times where my brain would throw such crazy images to prod me to wake up and breathe again that I would have to spend an hour walking around the block just to settle down. l (j(;upled with a new baby. who was just learning how to sleep through the night. I felt like 1 was one of the walking dead. _ _ I started to dread going to sleep. There was noth ing restful about going to bed. I probably don‘t have to tell you how I feit in the morning, as a quarter of all Canadians complain of insignificant sleep. That lack of sleep leads to lowâ€" ered productivity, isritability. forgetfulness and a general lack of energy during the day. ESmd Tt i . Many industrial accidents and more than 500,00 car accidents a year in North America may be caused by lack of sleep: and those with chronic sleep problemsareZ.Stjmesmbein\vhfdinacaracci- dent. And the statistics show those sleep problems get worse as you get older. _ Not that our fast â€"paced lifestyle has helped us. Before the advent of artificial light. the normal North American would average 10 hours of sleep per night The average night‘s sleep has shrunk to 65 hours a night during the week. and 7.5 hours on the weekâ€" end. I think the statisticians are being generous with their results, don‘t you? After a particularly bad spell, 1 finally got myself referred to a local seep clinic for an overnight trial. And despite feeling like a science project gone wrong with all the wires and diodes attached to me. I was able to get property diagnosed and found out I had less than a minute of delta sleep. the most restâ€" ful type. a night. Now ) go to bed every night with a machine that forces air through a mask to keep my breathing pasâ€" sages open. ) sound like Darth Vader now when 1 tell my son. "Luke. ) am vour father ~ _ The results have been amazing. I‘ve had more than 300 consecutive nights of at least four hours of sleep and no longer suffer from insommia The effects it‘s had on my moods and my energy can‘t even be described. Let‘s just say ) dont comâ€" plain about sleep anymare So T‘d highty recommend getting yourself proper Iv tested if your sleeping is the enemy If you don‘t do it for vourself. do it for your famih_ and the people around vou I‘m sure Reggre White would have jumped at the chance of not being another statistk VIEWPOLINT %'é? © aeticomamanc [ 9 f llOOGYTEAMwou 8 hx tn s / . T * > 3p &z M, o ! h %g * :3‘5 wm"â€"’ ’I‘he world has rallied round to help the tsunamiâ€"battered East. It‘s taking a lot of effort. but a start has been made. A lot of us oldâ€"timers have never been visited by such a disaster. not in the span of life that‘s been accorded to us. _ But what is astonishing on the local level is the amount that Waterioo folks have donated to the Red Cross in aid of the folks The amount at the local branch was more than $450,000 a few days into the campaign. Unbetievable We simply have never run into a terror as deep and as vast as the tsunami in action. Some of us couldn‘t remember when the last The world has been making a recovery after being smacked to its knees. The world‘s nations are united in giving generously â€" more so than many of us would have been _ But money isn‘t the top need. Water, food and medical help are more oo It‘s terrible how the tsunami can spread havoc over such a vast area. It‘s poor territory mostly, open to a real bruising from the tsunami. Added to that is the way the Asian societies operate. They are apt to leave thousands of chilâ€" dren as prey to sexual vultures. The same societal weaknessâ€" es have made wornen a target. - something difficult to overcomne. It‘s quite a mess. one that will * SA take time and a mighty effort to BA overcome. All the participating nations can do is their best. something we can pray for. Arf! Arf!: You know why you seldom hear about St. Bernard dogs anymore Twenty years ago one of them figured out haw to get the cork out of the keg. _ Cold Comfort: So we‘re plaving the old Canadian game: Duck the winter‘s blows You know what I mean. Every time the weather gets a bit mild. we set out teeth for the next of winter‘s hammers There‘s always one on the was. The best you can expect is a oneâ€"day or twoâ€"day lapse in the cold. and then here comes the ham met again The thing to do is take things easdy At the first whisper of an approaching wind. draw the drapes and switch the Juniors better stick to hockey _ phonograph to loud On no occasion will you watch the weather channel on TV. Or listen to anything about what‘s outside. There are a lot of things to think about. For example, one karate school makes $100,000 a year by teaching people how to break boards with the hands. There are other risks. Last week I got a cold, so I took the stuff that opens the nasal passages. And while they were open. 1 caught another cold. Incidentally, the government is going to do something about the flu epidemic. Startâ€" ing Monday, it‘s illegal. Spirit Life: Waterioo regional police can call their festive RIDE program a success. _ if their pmlin’flnary_ results are any indicaâ€" tion, fewer drivers were driving after drinkâ€" ing, about only half of the number from the year before. 'i)fi l Blue Lines: Say, wasn‘t that a beautiful game Canada‘s juniors played? Or weren‘t those beautiful games â€" all of them? Wasn‘t that a snazzy game against Russia, a game that really showed the junior Comâ€" mies which team is now running the junior world Seriousty, the Canadians behaved flaw â€" lessty They stayed out of fights. arguments and onâ€"ice discussions The team management also performed with nary a problem. It discussed problems with the media without sneers, sluts or smartâ€"remarks The only quaim | have about the team is that it didn‘t sing our natonal anthem until it won the championship cup After hearing it. 1 was saddened by the effort Better they should whistle Of course. it nets another $2,000 from Police issued 20 12â€"hour susâ€" pensions and charged four driâ€" vers with having more than 80 mg. of blood alcohol content. Police like the reduction, but are still alarmed that the numâ€" ber of roadside tests indicates the indicates the individuals are consuming alcohol and driving. Yup, there are some people who drink and drive. Like the chap who calls his car Auld Acquaintance because every New Year‘s Eve he forgets where he parked it.