Snoring: More than Just a Nuisance

Snoring: More than Just a Nuisance

Snoring: More than Just a Nuisance

Snoring disturbs the sleep of many unfortunate significant others, while the person doing the snoring rarely wakes up. In fact, most people do not know they snore until someone mentions it to them. While we mostly view snoring as a simple nuisance, it can also be the first sign of a serious condition known as sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is characterized by pauses in a person's breathing during sleep. Someone who suffers from sleep apnea may stop breathing several times each hour. Each pause in breathing may last ten seconds or more. If you suffer from sleep apnea, you may not wake up completely each time your breathing pauses, but your sleep will be interrupted and you will not get a full night's sleep.

Symptoms of sleep apnea include:

Chronic daytime fatigue

Difficulty with concentrating

Depression

Changes in personality

Increased irritability

Snoring

Causes of Snoring

While we sleep, the soft tissue on the roof of our mouth relaxes and partially covers our airway. The soft tissue vibrates as we breathe and creates the sound known as snoring. Some people do not snore too loudly, while others may snore very loudly. The volume of snoring depends on how much soft tissue is blocking the airway. The more the tissue is blocking the airway, the louder the snoring will be.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

If you have sleep apnea, you may be waking up during the night gasping for breath. Your significant other may notice that you stop breathing for several seconds while you sleep even if you do not notice it. The pauses in your breathing occur when the soft tissue completely or almost completely blocks your airway.

With light snoring, the airway may only be slightly blocked allowing enough oxygen to pass through the airway to the lungs. This may not cause adverse health problems. However, heavy snoring may be due to a completely blocked airway and will result in adverse health problems.

A blocked airway will prevent oxygen from entering the lungs and moving to the rest of the body. The amount of oxygen necessary for your health may not reach your brain during the night. Lack of oxygen over several years can reduce your life expectancy by approximately ten years.

Sleep apnea can lead to the following health problems:

High blood pressure

Diabetes

Heart disease

Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)

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