Every third adult snores in their sleep. This means that in almost every family there is one or even several “snoreers”. Snorers themselves rarely pay attention to their handicap, and their unwitting listeners experience a wide range of feelings about the nightly concerts, from humility to indignation. Today, many clinics offer services to eliminate snoring. Is it worth getting rid of this “bad habit”, what are the consequences of refusing treatment, and in general: what is snoring?
What is snoring?
Snoring is a wheezing sound in the nose and throat during sleep. Snoring is quite common and becomes more common with age. About 57% of men and 40% of women snore. However, the assessment of snoring itself depends on who hears it, with the volume and duration of a person's snoring varying from night to night. Therefore, the percentage of people who snore is only an estimate.
Sometimes the snoring is quiet, but usually the snoring is clearly visible, and sometimes it is so loud that it can be heard in another room. Snoring only disturbs other people, usually your bed or roommate trying to sleep. The person who snores rarely knows that he snores until others tell him about it. However, some people hear their own snoring when they wake up.
Snoring can have serious social consequences. It often causes tension between a snorer and a bed or roommate.
Depending on the cause of snoring, other symptoms may occur, such as frequent awakenings, difficulty breathing or choking during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and headaches in the morning.
Snoring occurs as a result of fluttering of the soft tissues in the throat, especially the soft palate (the back of the roof of the mouth). The fact that people do not snore when they are awake suggests the cause is muscle relaxation during sleep. This relaxation is thought to reduce tissue stiffness and make fluttering (like a cloth flag fluttering in the wind, as opposed to a metal plate of the same size) more likely to occur. In addition, tissue relaxation constricts the upper airways, which makes fluttering easier.
Overweight
It would seem a strange reason. However, it still very often causes a lot of problems. This also applies to snoring. Fatty deposits cause the throat to narrow; when inhaling and exhaling, air passes through the respiratory tract at high speed, which leads to strong vibrations of the tongue and other components, which leads to increased snoring. And as a result of the presence of fatty tissues in the pharynx, breathing is delayed, and apnea syndrome appears, which will be discussed below. The patient begins to suffer from severe hypoxia, which leads to metabolic disorders.
Causes
Primary snoring is snoring that does not cause you to wake up more than usual during the night. During sleep, the amount of air flow into the lungs and the level of oxygen in the blood are normal. Since there are no deviations in these factors, people do not experience excessive daytime sleepiness.
- Breathing disorders during sleep.
Snoring is often a symptom of sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep disordered breathing can range from upper airway resistance syndrome to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). These conditions differ mainly in the degree of airway blockage (degree of airway obstruction) as well as the location of the blockage. The effects of exposure are primarily disturbances in sleep and/or airflow.
Five or more times during an hour of sleep, people with OSA stop breathing briefly or their breathing becomes very shallow. They also have one or more of the following symptoms:
- daytime sleepiness, episodes of falling asleep unintentionally, lack of alertness after sleep, fatigue or insomnia;
- awakening from delayed or difficult breathing or from suffocation;
- Bedmate's complaints of loud snoring, breathing pauses, or both during sleep.
People with upper airway resistance syndrome experience excessive daytime sleepiness or other symptoms, but the full set of features needed to clinically diagnose OSA is not available.
- Risk factors.
Risk factors for snoring include the following:
- old age (over 50 years);
- obesity, especially the distribution of fat around the neck and waist;
- drinking alcohol (a very common cause of snoring) or other sedatives;
- long-term (chronic) nasal congestion;
- small jaw or deep bite;
- menopause;
- male gender;
- Negroid race;
- during pregnancy;
- disorders that block the airway, such as large tonsils, large tongue, large soft palate, deviated septum, and nasal polyps.
Increased risk
Some things that can increase your likelihood of snoring include:
- obesity - especially if you have a large amount of fat around your neck, people with a neck circumference of more than 43 cm (17 inches) tend to snore a lot
- drinking alcohol - alcohol relaxes muscles, especially bad if you take it before bed, it contributes to the narrowing of the airways
- Taking sedatives and some types of antidepressants —in some people, these medications can have the same effects as alcohol.
- Smoking – tobacco smoke can cause inflammation of the airways, which also increases the risk of narrowing the airways
- Allergic rhinitis is a condition in which the nose becomes inflamed or swollen due to an allergic reaction to certain substances, such as dust or pollen.
Complications
It is unknown whether snoring itself causes unwanted effects. However, OSA increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and diabetes.
Prevention
By changing your sleeping position or elevating your head, snoring can often be resolved more effectively by lying on your back. Reducing obesity and drinking alcohol in the evening will also help effectively against snoring, such as eliminating anesthetic drugs, increasing humidity, or reducing the number of bed mites with anti-allergy fillers and protective coverings.
You can reduce snoring by using a ratchet bandage. Muscle training with the didgeridoo has also proven beneficial against snoring. In addition, snoring is a preventative measure for regular jogging or walking. A healthy diet and plenty of outdoor exercise not only improve your overall well-being, but also promote better and deeper sleep.
Diagnostics
For doctors, the main goal is to identify people at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. Not all people who snore have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, most people with OSA snore.
Warning signs
The following symptoms are cause for concern:
- episodes of lack of breathing or choking during sleep (witnessed by a bedmate);
- headaches when waking up in the morning;
- drowsiness during the day;
- obesity;
- very loud, incessant snoring;
- high blood pressure.
These symptoms may indicate sleep apnea.
When to see a doctor?
If you have any warning signs, you should contact your doctor as testing may be necessary.
People without warning signs are unlikely to need testing and may want to try general measures to reduce snoring before seeing a doctor. If such measures do not help and snoring is extremely bothersome to your bedmate, you should consult a doctor.
— What does the doctor do?
First, doctors ask about snoring and other symptoms, and then about other illnesses the patient has had. Because several important facts are noticed primarily by other people, doctors try to talk with a bedmate or roommate whenever possible. They then perform a physical examination. Knowing your medical history and physical examination helps your doctor decide whether tests are necessary to diagnose OSA.
Doctors ask how severe snoring is. For example, a bedmate might be asked the following questions:
- Does the patient snore every night, and if not, how often.
- Does the patient snore all night long, and if not, for how long during the night.
- How loud is the snoring?
The patient and bedmate are also asked to describe:
- How often during the night does the patient seem to wake up;
- Whether the patient stops breathing and has had episodes of difficulty breathing or suffocation;
- Does it seem to him that after sleep there is no feeling of vigor, and does he have headaches in the morning;
- How sleepy the patient is during the daytime.
Doctors also ask about other conditions that may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, acid reflux, atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm), depression, and diabetes. They ask questions about the amount of alcohol consumed, including how close to bedtime alcohol is consumed. It is also important whether the patient takes any sedatives or muscle relaxants.
During a physical examination, doctors measure a patient's height and weight to calculate their body mass index (BMI). The higher the patient's BMI, the higher the risk of OSA. Doctors may measure the circumference of your neck. OSA is most likely when the neck circumference is more than 16 inches (41 centimeters) in women and 17 inches (43 centimeters) in men.
Doctors also examine the nose and mouth for signs of airway obstruction and for risk factors for snoring, such as nasal polyps, deviated septum, chronic nasal congestion, high and arched palate, small jaw or deep bite, and enlarged tongue , tonsils or uvula (a process that hangs at the back of the throat). Doctors measure your blood pressure because the likelihood of OSA increases with high blood pressure.
When to see a doctor
You should visit your doctor if you feel too tired during the day, as this could be caused by your snoring.
Snoring also causes the following symptoms:
- Memory impairment and poor concentration
- Headaches (especially in the morning)
- Irritability and short temper
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Lack of interest in sex
You should also seek help if your snoring is causing problems in your relationship with your partner.
You can do it yourself
There are several ways and means to reduce snoring. The easiest way is to change your sleeping position and sleep in a lying position. It also helps to widen the airways before going to bed through a saline steam bath or an anti-snoring patch. Essential oils help clear the throat and lungs and can be placed in a bowl next to your bed, which will also humidify the air in the room and make it easier to breathe at night.
Regular snorers should ventilate their bedroom before bed and pay attention to a pleasant indoor climate. There may also be an allergy to house dust or mites, which should be treated by a doctor. Those who are overweight can reduce snoring by losing weight in the long term. In addition, alcohol should not be drunk before bed, as it causes relaxation of the soft palate, and therefore promotes snoring.
When your partner snores, it may help to gently touch the larynx or neck, stroke the bridge of the nose, or slightly increase the upper body's back position. If snoring becomes a burden, you should consult a doctor at the latest.
