How to Stop Snoring
As we progress from light to deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of the mouth, tongue and throat relax. This can narrow the airway and impede the flow of air. In response, we breath harder to keep up the oxygen levels in the body. At this point, the tissues in our throat can begin to vibrate as air is rapidly drawn into and pushed out of our lungs. The result of course is the sound we know as snoring.
In most cases, snoring does not pose a serious medical problem. There are many different causes of snoring, a lot of which are only temporary and occur sporadically throughout our lives. There are however, other, much more serious causes of snoring which need to be addressed by medical professionals.
Even mild snoring can cause problems for both the snorer and their partner, so it is important that you deal with your snoring as soon as possible.
Causes of Snoring
Statistics prove that a higher percentage of men snore. As people age, the probability of snoring increases along with the frequency and intensity. Many other factors can cause snoring, including:
- Mouth anatomy – An obstructed airway can be caused by the shape of the mouth and throat. Enlarged tonsils or adenoids can narrow the airway in addition to other attributes.
- Poor muscle tone – Relaxed throat muscles will cause obstruction and can be caused by sleep medication, alcohol or age-related muscle changes.
- Bulky throat tissue – Some people have thicker throat tissue, which can be hereditary. Air passages will be smaller when the throat tissue requires more room.
- Long, soft palate or uvula – A common cause of snoring is a longer-than-average palate or uvula, which is the triangular piece of flesh that dangles at the back of the throat. These features can result in snoring because there is more flesh to create audible vibrations.
- Obesity – Excess fat can accumulate in many areas of the body, including the neck and throat. As the fat tissue expands, the air passage is narrowed, and snoring occurs. Morbidly obese individuals report significant impact to sleep quality because of the frequency of their snoring.
- Drinking alcohol – Consuming various types of alcoholic beverages will cause the muscles in the throat to relax at varying degrees. Deeper sleep is caused by over-consumption of alcohol, which makes snoring more likely.
- Sinus or nasal problems – When an individual has a sinus infection, allergies or common cold, the associated congestion causes constriction of the air passages.
- Sleep apnea – This condition is diagnosed when an individual experiences periods of slow or stopped breathing more than five times in one hour. Long periods of silence are followed by an abrupt loud snore that is the response to a lack of oxygen and buildup of carbon dioxide. Severe cases of sleep apnea can be dangerous to the person’s health.
- Obstructed nasal airways – Many conditions can cause obstructions in the nasal airways, but the most common is body position. A sleeping partner will encourage the snorer to sleep on his side instead of his back.
Health Risks Associated with Snoring
Adequate rest is an important contributing factor for quality of life. When an individual has a snoring condition that affects the depth of sleep achieved, there are a number of symptoms that are manifested in other areas of life.
- Sleepy daytime hours – Snoring affects sleep quality during the nighttime hours, which leads to grogginess during waking hours.
- Relationship impacts – A sleep partner’s sleep quality can be affected by the noise made by the snoring partner. If the snorer displays irritability toward friends and family members, the quality of relationships can deteriorate.
- Concentration problems – Sufficient high-quality sleep is necessary for mental processes to be completed effectively. Reading and writing are more challenging when the mind has not experienced REM sleep during the previous sleep session.
- High blood pressure – Individuals who snore frequently and experienced interruptions in their sleep have higher blood pressure levels than people who do not snore.
- Increased risk of heart failure or stroke – Impacts, such as high blood pressure, on the cardiovascular system that are sustained over a long period of time can result in serious health issues such as heart attacks or strokes.
- Moodiness – Snorers who cannot achieve adequate levels of sleep over a sustained period of time will affect how well the individual deals with daily challenges. Children are not the only ones who must have adequate sleep to have healthy emotional responses.
- Behavioral changes – Individuals that are suffering from lack of sleep experience more frequent memory problems, a sense of disorientation and inability to complete basic tasks. If others are unaware of the snoring issue, assumptions can be made about the cause.
- Higher risk of car accidents – Poor quality sleep impairs the judgment of people who attempt to drive a vehicle while drowsy. Reaction time, depth perception and decision making can be affected, which might result in collisions with other cars or stationary objects.
More serious health problems can result from obstructive sleep apnea, including:
- Breathing interruptions – A sufferer of sleep apnea experiences breathing stoppages during sleep hours that can last for more than 10 seconds. These episodes might occur more than one hundred times each night.
- Frequent waking – When the snorer’s brain registers a lack of oxygen, every effort is made to wake the individual to prevent suffocation and death. Physical reaction to these alerts includes a loud snore and jerking of the limbs. The snorer feels exhausted the next morning from the repeated series of events.
- Inability to enter REM sleep – Snoring occurs when the transition to deep sleep is achieved, but snoring can wake the partner and the snorer. Inability to sustain periods of REM sleep has many impacts, including: slurred speech, memory issues, and slowed muscular reflexes.
- Lower blood oxygen levels – Interrupted breathing brought about by the sleep apnea condition will lower the levels of oxygen in the bloodstream. The heart beats harder to supply the brain and major organs with sufficient oxygen. This leads to higher blood pressure levels.
- Increased adrenalin levels – An oxygen-deprived body is under stress, which causes the adrenal gland to be stimulated to flood the system with adrenalin.
- Higher risk of diabetes – More adrenalin in the system raises the sugar levels in the bloodstream, which can lead to diabetes.
Snoring Treatments
Certain lifestyle adjustments will reduce the occurrence of snoring. Individuals will find relief from a different set of changes.
- Adopt healthy eating habits to assist in the effort to lose weight.
- Avoid taking medications such as tranquilizers, antihistamines and sleeping pills prior to bedtime.
- For four hours prior to going to sleep, avoid heavy meals, snacks and alcohol.
- Establish a sleep pattern that includes a regular bedtime every night.
- Choose to sleep on one side or the other and not the back.
- Raise the entire head of the bed by four inches.
Some medical treatments can be used to address serious snoring cases.
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP or UP3) – This surgical procedure restructures the air passages in the throat and palate.
- Laser-assisted uvula palatoplasty (LAUP) – Removal of airway obstructions is performed through the use of a laser.
- Somnoplasty – The excessive tissues in the uvula, palate and tone are shrunk through the use of radio frequency energy.
- Septoplasty and turbinate surgery – Blockages in the noise are repaired to increase airflow through the nasal passages.
- Tonsillectomy – Removal of the tonsils and adenoids is a common solution for children who snore frequently. Adults that have large tonsils can benefit from this medical procedure as well.
- CPAP – Continuous Positive Airway Pressure – A nasal mask attached to a machine that forces air through the upper airway. Since the pressure is continuous, the sleep apnea sufferer no longer endures periods of breathing interruption.
Dealing With a Snoring Spouse
Other people who are trying to sleep in the vicinity of a snorer can suffer impacts to their sleep quality. Certain actions taken by the sleep partner can reduce the amount of snoring that occurs.
- Honest discussions about the snoring impacts should be conducted. Encourage the snorer to review the tips that will stop their snoring.
- Wear soft earplugs to reduce the snoring noise.
- Agree that the snorer will wait until the partner is asleep before attempting to go to sleep. This approach allows the partner to avoid long periods of frustration because of not being able to go to sleep because of the snoring.
- Avoid daytime naps to encourage sleep to come more quickly at night.
- Adopt a daily exercise routine that will cause deeper sleep that will prevent light sleep. Tired muscles relax deeply, which encourages REM sleep for the snorer’s partner.
- Consider sleeping in different rooms on certain nights. Prior agreements will avoid hurt feelings and misunderstandings.
- Nudge the snorer or say his name and then ask him to sleep on his side, which opens the airways and reduces snoring.
Final Evaluation
Infrequent snoring episodes are not a cause for concern. When sleep quality is low, the snorer should seek a consultation with a physician. All efforts to stop snoring should be tracked to enable the physician to make an accurate diagnosis and effective recommendations. Snoring should be addressed before serious health issues can arise or relationships are impacted.
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