Snoring is a common sleep disorder that can affect all people at any age, although it occurs more frequently in men and people who are overweight. Snoring has a tendency to worsen with age.
Occasional snoring is usually not very serious and is mostly a nuisance for the bed partner of the person who snores. However, the habitual snorer not only disrupts the sleep patterns of those close to him, he also disturbs his own. Habitual snorers snore whenever they sleep and are often tired after a night of what seems like quality rest.
The causes of snoring can range from a hereditary problem to the social and psychological problems of today’s hectic lifestyle. But technically speaking, people who snore often have thick throat and nasal tissue, also called as “floppy” tissue, which is more prone to vibrate than in a normal tissue set up. Often, as we age, the body relaxes even more than when we were younger. Snoring also increases with fatty build up as we gain weight.
If we continue to gain weight and the soft tissues relax even more, the skin in these areas may even close up the throat or nasal passages. The tongue may relax and fall back into the throat. When these air passages are blocked, we stop breathing. Carbon dioxide builds up in the body and oxygen is depleted. At this point, if we are lucky, the body reacts almost waking up and gasping for air. This is known as obstructive sleep apnea.
It can be tough to identify sleep apnea on your own, since the most prominent symptoms only occur when you’re asleep. If you have sleep apnea, your nighttime breathing is interrupted and doesn’t return promptly. Sleep apnea can be a life threatening condition. The airflow into your body is delayed by more than 10 seconds.
That may not sound like much, but it’s a serious situation. This breathing interruption can happen up to five times in an hour during sleep. If you snore loudly and nightly, you’re at higher risk for sleep apnea than the occasional snorer.
Not all sleep apnea is obstructive, however. Another, rarer type of sleep apnea is referred to as central sleep apnea because it is generally a failure of the central nervous system. In this case, the brain forgets to tell the body to breathe or the signal becomes blocked as it travels along the nerves. Other cases may be a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea can be reduced or eliminated with the proper help. Since it is often the result of being overweight, the first action that can be beneficial is to loose weight. Since this can take months or years to accomplish, it should be started as soon as possible but other steps need to be taken to avert potential disaster.
Losing weight is also important to moderating sleep apnea. Along with losing weight, you need to be in an exercise program. Many people report that their sleep apnea completely disappears once they lose weight and get back to a normal, healthy range.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) masks are worn over the nose and mouth to force air into the nasal passages in a continuous flow. This may not be the most comfortable way to sleep, but it has been highly effective and most people get used to the machine and rely on it to deliver a good night’s sleep.
If all else fails, there are surgical procedures such as widening the palate, restructuring nasal cavities or taking out the tonsils to aid in a sleep apnea disorder. Make sure you don’t ignore your snoring and mistake it as something harmless because if it’s sleep apnea, you’re putting your life at risk!
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