What God has joined together, let no noisy night put asunder. No doubt, while the person, that snores ‘enjoys sleep,’ the partner has sleepless night.
Yet that snoring partner needs your help not abandonment. There is a story of a couple with grown up children, where mummy reported daddy to the children that he (husband) disturbed her sleep in the night with his noisy breathing during sleep.
The children curiously investigated the issue and found out that mummy too snored but at a lesser degree.
Researchers have shown that compared with women, greater proportion of men snore. This discovery by the children prevented their mother from changing room.
Separation of bedroom is not the remedy to snoring; you may enjoy your night sleep but miss the intimacy of your husband. Truly, some homes are in disarray simply because of snoring of a partner but the solution to snoring is not in separation but helping each other.
What is snoring?
Snoring is simply noisy breathing during sleep resulting from partial or total obstruction of upper part of the airway (wind pipe).
The whole night may be so noisy as to disturb other partners in the room. It affects both male and female but more common in elderly.
50 per cent of those with loud snoring suffer from cessation of breathing (sleep apnea) during sleep, a serious condition that needs thorough investigation. Snoring can be simple in most times or complex depending on the cause(s)
Causes and risk factors of snoring
There is a connection between the noses, ear and mouth at a path called throat. Throat is surrounded by muscular structure, soft tissues, and bone which work together to breathe and swallow food. Any obstruction of air flow into the lung in this region results in vibration along these tissues that make the victim snore.
Most people that snore have enlargement of the surrounding structure which narrows the airway, resulting in noisy breathing. The risk factors are grouped into modifiable and non-modifiable.
Non-modifiable causes
Age – your throat becomes narrower, and muscle tone decreases as you grow old, making the throat muscle floppy (too soft) and vibrate, generating noise as you breathe during sleep.
Heredity – all physical attributes like narrow throat, enlarged upper throat gland (adenoids) are genetically determined and can run in the family.
Allergies to dust or other agents and asthma can lead to snoring that is beyond the control of the victim.
Male sex predisposes to narrow air passages, hence the tendency for men to snore compared with women.
Modifiable causes
Obesity predisposes to fatty tissue and poor muscle tone which contributes to snoring.
Smoking or exposure to second hand smoking relaxes muscle and creates nasal congestion.
Alcohol increases muscle relaxation, leading to more snoring
Sleeping posture – sleeping on your back allows the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway.
Health effect of snoring
Poor sleep can lead to daytime fatigue, irritability and increased health problems. When the airway is narrow or is obstructed, the body makes more effort in pushing the air out of the lung, thereby increasing the demand on the heart.
When it continues unabated, it can lead to high blood pressure. Snoring itself is not a symptom of heart failure, but it can worsen the state of heart failure. Making more demand on a failing heart is like flogging a dead horse.
Other cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attack are associated with snoring. Loud snorers are at a risk of 40 per cent than non snorer to develop hypertension, 34 per cent greater risk of heart attack, and 67 per cent greater chance of having stroke.
Loud snoring, especially when associated with sleep apnea, is associated with oxygen poor blood which can lead to stroke and heart attack.
What to do?
Snoring is very easy to treat once you identify the cause. The way you snore may reveal why you snore, kindly follow the following tips.
•Snoring when mouth is closed probably signifies the problem with the tongue
• When the throat tissues are affected, person involved snores when mouth is open
•Severe snoring that requires more comprehensive treatment is that associated with all sleep positions
•Snoring while sleeping on your back is simple — improved sleep habits and lifestyle changes may bring effective cure.
The lifestyle changes include
•Sleeping on your side
•Elevate the head of your bed
•Limit alcohol and self medications
•Clear your nasal passages
•Lose weight
If the snoring still persists despite these simple measures, consult the specialist doctors on ear, nose and throat. Do not separate bedroom because of snoring, look for the cause and jointly treat.
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