Snoring: Itâ??s Nothing to Laugh About
Have you ever noticed how often snoring is used to get a laugh on TV sitcoms and cartoons? Actually, thereâ??s nothing funny about it. Snoring is a serious medical and social problem that can cause social ridicule, sleeplessness, and a host of serious health problems including obstructive sleep apnea. 25% of adults snore habitually. And without treatment, it doesnâ??t get any better. While overweight males are at the greatest risk, women are not immune, and the problem only grows worse as we age.
Why Do We Snore?
Snoring occurs when the passages at the back of the mouth and nose do not have a free flow of air. This is called â??obstructionâ?? and usually occurs when the soft tissues in that area collapse during sleep, causing the tongue to meet briefly with the soft palate (top part of your mouth in the back) and the uvula (the â??bellâ?? in the back of your throat). The vibrations are what cause the snoring sound.
Snorers may also suffer from:
· Poor oral muscle tone. Relaxed tongue and throat muscles can cut off airflow. Deep sleep, alcohol and sleep medications can contribute to poor muscle tone.
· Large tonsils and adenoids. Excess throat tissue can cause snoring. This is why children sometimes snore. Being overweight can cause excess neck tissue, which is why snoring is more common in overweight individuals. Rarely, a cyst or tumors can be the problem.
· Long uvula and/or soft palate. Individuals with a â??long palateâ?? have a narrower opening between the nose and throat that can create noise during the relaxed breathing of deep sleep. A longer than normal uvula worsens the situation.
· Nasal airway obstruction. Stuffy noses do not have a free flow of air. The extra effort it takes to breathe through a stuffed up nose creates a strong pull on floppy throat tissues, causing a snoring sound. That is why some people experience snoring only during hay fever attacks, a cold or a sinus infection.
· Nose or nasal septum deformities, such as a deviated septum, can cause obstruction.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Obstructive sleep apnea often begins with snoring, but can be far more serious. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when snoring is punctuated by long absences of sound lasting ten seconds or more that can happen up to 300 times per night. This lack of sound means the individual is not breathing in between bursts of snoring. Health risks are great and include low blood oxygen levels that make the heart work much harder to bring oxygen to the blood.
Individuals affected with sleep apnea sleep lightly and cannot relax deeply enough to allow sufficient airflow to the lungs. The snorer is left with night after night of poor rest, as well as:
· Daytime sleepiness
· Increased mood swings
· Depression
· Impaired job performance
· Hazardous driving, especially if the individual operates heavy equipment
· Elevated blood pressure
· Enlargement of the heart
Tags: central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, Reggie White Sleep Apnea, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Apnea Child, Sleep Apnea Cure, Sleep Apnea In Child, Sleep Apnea Machine, Sleep Apnea Mask, Sleep Apnea Symptom, Sleep Apnea Treatment, Sleep-apnea-surgery