The night should bring peace and quiet. But to some of us, our rooms sound more like a monster truck rally than a yoga class.
About 40 percent of men and 24 percent of women snore on a regular basis. But aside from seriously annoying your bed partner, is there any harm in cutting logs when you turn off the lights?
What Causes Snoring?
Snoring is when the tissue in the back of the throat behind the base of the tongue, called the soft palate , vibrates in the air column as air passes through. It usually occurs in people who have a narrow opening there.
This narrow passage is not a problem when you are awake because you are in an upright position and because when these tissues are active they open. However, once they relax during sleep, they loosen up and collapse a bit.
When air tries to pass through this obstruction, the tissues flap against each other. And usually this rattle is the source of the snoring sound.
The difference between snoring and sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is like snoring on steroids. If you have complete sleep apnea, the collapse of the airway completely cuts off the flow of oxygen.
You start to inhale, and although the abdomen, diaphragm, and chest muscles are trying to draw air in, the throat muscles and throat tissue are closed. Your body produces a rush of adrenaline, causing you to snort and then keep breathing.
A less extreme version of this is hypopnea , which means shallow breathing. Although the throat tissue is suctioned towards the middle, it does not close completely. You don’t breathe fully and your oxygen continues to drop, but not as much as it would in full apnea.
Weight gain can increase the likelihood of breathing difficulties while in dreamland. You are also at a higher risk if you are over 55 years old.
Another factor involved in determining whether or not you will develop apnea is the sensitivity of the brain’s respiratory control center , which regulates breathing. Some people are very sensitive. With just a slight change in your oxygen intake, the respiratory control center will stimulate you to breathe more deeply. Others are not so sensitive; their brains do not respond to a drop in oxygen levels.
Why can snoring turn into apnea?
Loud, frequent, and disturbing snoring is often a precursor to sleep apnea. If you snore, you are more likely to develop sleep apnea.
Not only are people who snore more likely to be overweight and older, they are the same risk factors for sleep apnea. A study published in November 2018 found that snoring leads to nerve degeneration in the upper airways , which can put you at increased risk for upper airway obstruction during sleep.
That said, the two are not always necessarily linked. Not everyone who snores has apnea, and not everyone who has apnea snores. Although it’s easier to tell if you stopped breathing if you made a lot of noise first, there is a “quiet” version of sleep apnea in which people make almost no sound, even though they have trouble breathing.
Causes and dangerous effects of snoring
Despite the snorting and wheezing people associate with it, snoring is no laughing matter. There is evidence that loud snoring can be a risk factor for stroke, even if you don’t have apnea.
The more of the night someone spends snoring, the more narrowing there is in the arteries in the neck, although there is no narrowing in the arteries in the groin.
The vibration of snoring is believed to cause small tears in the lining of the arteries, which the body then repairs by depositing plaque. This accumulation of plaque increases the chances of suffering a stroke.
Not to mention, if someone is sleeping next to you, they are likely having poor quality interrupted sleep , which presents a host of health problems.
Having your oxygen levels rise and fall, in addition to the adrenaline surge during the night, puts pressure on your heart, brain, and blood vessels. Untreated apnea over time has been shown to cause high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure, heart rhythm problems, car accidents, impotence, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer.
Is genetic
Some people have an anatomical predisposition to snoring. It is usually hereditary.
For example, you may have an overbite, where the lower jaw is not as prominent and there is limited space at the back of the throat. Or if your tongue is wider than your jaw, it may fall back into your throat when you sleep.
Some people have conditions such as a deviated septum and nasal polyps, while others were born with larger tonsils or adenoids; All of these factors make you prone to snoring.
You are congested
When you have a cold or your allergies increase, the inside of your nose swells. As a result, there is not as much space in the nasal cavity and you have to work harder to suck in air. That can make the tissue below vibrate, causing snoring.
Turbinate hypertrophy is another condition that puts you at risk for inflammation-induced snoring. It causes swelling in the lining of the nasal passages, blocking the flow of air.
You are exhausted
People are more likely to huff and puff when they are very tired. Fatigue causes muscle tone to break down. The tissue in your throat becomes flabby and makes more noise.
You are pregnant
When you have a baby in the oven, your progesterone levels skyrocket. The pregnancy hormone helps nourish the developing fetus and causes a noisy night’s sleep.
It causes swelling in the membranes leading to nasal congestion and snoring.
You are over 55 years old
As we get older, gravity has more of an effect. Our muscle tone weakens and the throat tissue that used to stay out of the way now begins to decay.
Your tongue also gets lazier with age. The enervation of the nerve in the tongue is lost, so it cannot move while sleeping.
You have gained weight
Some people store fat at the base of the tongue or in the back of the throat, which will narrow the throat. The greater the outer circumference of your neck, the greater the risk of apnea internally.
Have a drink after dinner
Alcohol makes snoring easier, as it preferentially relaxes the throat muscles more than the thoracic muscles, which we use to breathe.
You sleep on your back
In the supine position, gravity allows the tongue to slide toward the back of the throat, restricting airflow. In addition, the tissues in the back of the throat also hang down and block the windpipe.
You are taking a sedative
Medications like Ativan and Valium can increase the likelihood of snoring by relaxing the muscles, including those in the throat.
How do you know if you snore?
Some people’s own night noises wake them up, while others have a bed partner warning them. But if you are single or your partner is a sound sleeper, you may have no idea that you are transforming into a lawnmower when you close your eyes at night.
Unexplained fatigue
You sleep seven to eight hours, but you still feel very sleepy during the day. Called excessive daytime sleepiness , it can be an indication that you are snoring.
High blood pressure
Blood pressure is increasing and you are not sure why? Sleep apnea may be to blame. If you are not breathing enough oxygen, your heart has to beat much faster to supply more blood to your organs.
High cholesterol
If you are young and eat healthy but suffer from high cholesterol, consider whether snoring could be the reason.
Sore throat or dry mouth in the morning
Waking up every day with these symptoms is a sign that you’ve been snoring.
If any of these ring true for you, record your nighttime noises using an app.
4 ways to eliminate snoring
It is important to eliminate snoring from the beginning before it gets worse and becomes dangerous for your health.
Try nasal strips
If you only snore when you’re congested, see if the nasal strips help you. These bandages are placed along the bridge of the nose and have wings at each end, which open the nostrils.
For some people, this makes a big difference, and you can also try an over-the-counter nasal spray. Nasal strips often relieve snoring as well if you are also pregnant.
Watch when you drink
Avoid alcohol for three to four hours before going to bed so your body has time to metabolize it. However, you can always not drink at night and thus make sure you do not snore.
Choose a different position
Sleeping on your back is usually part of the problem. Hug a pillow or put a pillow on your lower back to help you stay on your side.
Another (albeit less comfortable) strategy to stay away is to place a sock full of tennis balls on the back of a T-shirt and carry it to bed.
Alternatively, you can work against gravity by raising the head of your bed. Slide wedges under your mattress so that you are on a slope, which will open up the airway.
See a doctor
If you have constant, disturbing snoring and these DIY strategies don’t work, it’s time to see a doctor.
Dentists make oral appliances that pull the jaw forward to open space in the back of the throat. These mouthpieces are also available in many pharmacies or online, but they could alter your bite.
Another option that your dentist might suggest is a tongue retention device that moves your tongue forward, but these can be uncomfortable.
