Snoring is an occasional occurrence that may happen during all ages and stages of life. Snoring is due to the vibrations that cause particles in the air to form sound waves. Hence snoring is a sound caused from turbulent airflow which causes tissues to vibrate during sleep.

Habitual loud snoring is the most common symptom of breathing disorders that occur during sleep. The person who snores not only sleeps restlessly, but also is at risk for serious disorders of the heart and lungs. Snoring can therefore be lifethreatening because it can lead to high blood pressure, irregular heart beats, heart attacks, and sudden death.

What causes snoring?
The muscles in and around the throat relax too much when we are asleep. This means that the opening in the throat becomes narrow, and air has difficulty in passing. As one requires the same amount of air to the lungs, the air intake speed increases. Pressure in the throat increases, and the uvula and soft palate begin to vibrate. The noise produced by these vibrations is called snoring. Therefore, snoring is a sign of troubled breathing during sleep. The louder the snoring sound, the narrower the opening in the throat.

1. Does medications and alcohol affect snoring?
The root cause of snoring is vibration of the tissues while breathing. Some medications as well as alcohol can lead to enhanced relaxation of muscles during sleep. As the muscles of the palate, tongue, neck, and pharynx relax more, the airway collapses more. This leads to a smaller airway and greater tissue vibration. Some medications encourage a deeper level of sleep, which also can worsen snoring.
2. Why is snoring a problem?
If the snorer sleeps and breathes normally, then snoring is only a problem for the snorer’s bed partner or family members. In fact, snoring often disrupts the sleep of family members and partners more than it affects the snorer. Snoring may not be a medical problem, but it can become a significant social problem for the snorer and sleep problem for the bed partner.
3. How should someone with snoring be evaluated?
To thoroughly evaluate someone with a snoring problem, it is important to talk to that person’s bed partner or family members. A complete history and physical examination is often performed.
In addition, more detail about their snoring and sleep problems needs to be obtained. The patients may be asked about their sleep pattern and sleep hygiene, daytime symptoms of sleepiness, daytime napping, and frequency of awakening at night.

Effects of Snoring

1. Snores have headache and migraine three times more than others.
The science group from National Institute of Aging in Maryland has studied the snoring habits of 206 people with chronic daily headache and of 507 persons with only occasional headache. It revealed that overall the habitual snoring was three times as common among the patients with headache as among the other people in the control group.
2. Heavy snorer develop obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)
Studies shows that a majority of patients with heavy snoring had signs of pharyngeal afferent and efferent nerve lesions. These lesions may cause the collapse of upper airways in OSAS in heavy snorers. Since it is not known who will develop OSAS, early effective treatment of snoring is recommended.
3. International research has shown that snorers have considerably lower quality of life.
Snoring results in decreased quality of life over a period of time resulting in cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, stress and premature death.Woman, who snore, are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular diseases.

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Filed under: Obstructive Sleep Apnea • Sleep • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Effects • Sleep Problems • Snoring • Snoring Solution • Snoring Treatment

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