Snoring
The rasping noise made whilst asleep known as snoring is caused by vibrations of the soft palate and other tissues in the mouth nose and throat. The location of the snore can be from the tip of the nose to the back of the throat.
We don't snore when awake because of better muscle tone when upright, lying down causes muscles to relax therefore allowing muscles to vibrate which results in a snoring noise.
Although it is popularly thought that only men snore this is not true and women as well as men snore although women may be more reluctant to admit they have a problem or seek help.
Lack of exercise and being overweight can cause snoring as the neck becomes larger so the muscle tone is lost and snoring will occur as the airway is restricted so stopping the air flowing freely.
Weight loss alone will not necessarily stop snoring but more exercise will help.
The position in which you sleep will also contribute to increase in snoring, if you sleep on your back you are more likely to snore than if you sleep on your side.
Other causes of snoring can be alcohol intake and or sleeping pills, these cause muscles to relax even more than usual during sleep. Alcohol can also cause nasal irritation and congestion increasing the probability of snoring. So cutting back and changing your drinking habits will help and by drinking your last alcoholic drink 4 hours before going to bed will have a positive effect.
The problems you may encounter if you have impaired sleep are, you won’t be feeling your best during the day, it can alter your mood, and you may find you suffer from headaches and you will be less productive, you may even be prone to more accidents as your concentration is not as it should be.
You are not the only one who will suffer from your condition, many a relationship is put under a lot of strain by a partner who snores. Your partner will also be suffering from lack of sleep causing you both to argue as you are both under strain and any little thing can set you both off, any small thing that you would normally let go.
You may find that you partner even resorts to sleeping in a separate room just so they can get some sleep.
This is just one reason why a solution to snoring should be found, as the long term health implications of disrupted sleep caused by snoring can cause a stroke by lack of oxygen circulating the body and brain.
As previously mentioned the solution to snoring is not necessarily by doing just one thing, it could and probably will be a combination of modifying life style such as reduction in weight more exercise, cutting back on alcohol and smoking, reconsider your sleeping position and if you still snore after all that there are oral devices that can be worn at night to push the lower jaw forward opening up the air ways, nasal strips and strips that keep your chin up if your jaw is a bit slack. All of these can have great results for snorers. More drastic options are to have an operation which tightens the skin and tissue in the throat.
Your partner could also invest in some earplugs which may not be the ideal solution but it will certainly make for a happy relationship.
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