Just about everyone snores occasionally, but if snoring
happens frequently it can affect the quantity and quality of your sleep and
that of your family members and roommates. Snoring can lead to poor sleep and
daytime fatigue, irritability, and increased health problems. If your snoring
keeps your partner awake, it can also create major relationship problems.
Snoring and family
problems
The Sleep Disorders Center at Rush University Medical Center
is conducting a scientific sleep study to evaluate how a husband’s sleep apnea
impacts the wife’s quality of sleep and the couple’s marital satisfaction.
“This is a frequent problem within marriages that nobody is
paying enough attention to,” said Rosalind Cartwright, PhD, founder of the
Sleep Disorders Center at Rush. “Couples who struggle with sleep apnea have a
high-divorce rate. Can we save marriages by treating sleep apnea? It’s a
question we hope to answer.”
The Married Couples Sleep Study is evaluating 10 couples in
which the male has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. After
completing surveys about sleepiness, marriage satisfaction, and quality of
life, the couple spends the night in the sleep lab where technicians determine
each partner’s quality and quantity of sleep. Following two weeks of treatment,
the diagnostic tests and surveys are repeated.
“Our early results are showing that the wife’s sleep is
indeed deprived due to the husband’s noisy nights. This is not a mild problem.
The lack of sleep for both partners puts a strain on the marriage and creates a
hostile and tense situation,” said Cartwright.
For example, in one couple, the husband’s snoring was
arousing the wife out of sleep over eight times an hour. Her sleep efficiency
rating, which is the percentage of time she is actually sleeping during the
night, was 73 percent. The average person’s sleep efficiency is closer to 90
percent. The wife had tried ear plugs, earphones, and numerous other devices to
try to sleep through the snoring. She eventually gave up and chose to sleep alone.
“The strain on the marriage was evident. The couple was fighting all the time
and the surveys revealed low satisfaction with the marriage, especially when it
came to effective communication,” said Cartwright.
The causes of snoring
Not all snoring is the same. In fact, everyone snores for
different reasons. When you get to the bottom of why you snore, then you can
find the right solutions to a quieter, deeper sleep.
People who snore often have too much throat and nasal
tissue, or “floppy” tissue that is more prone to vibrate. The position of your
tongue can also get in the way of smooth breathing. Evaluating how and when you snore will help
you pinpoint whether the cause of your snoring is within your control or not.
Snoring happens when you can't move air freely through your
nose and mouth during sleep. Often caused by the narrowing of your airway,
either from poor sleep posture or abnormalities of the soft tissues in your
throat. A narrow airway gets in the way of smooth breathing and creates the
sound of snoring.
Common causes of snoring are:
* Age. As you
reach middle age and beyond, your throat becomes narrower, and the muscle tone
in your throat decreases.
* The way you’re
built. Men have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to
snore. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids, and other physical
attributes that contribute to snoring are often hereditary.
* Nasal and sinus
problems. Blocked airways make inhalation difficult and create a vacuum in
the throat, leading to snoring. Some people snore only during allergy seasons
or when they have a sinus infection. Deformities of the nose such as a deviated
septum (a structural change in the wall that separates one nostril from the
other) or nasal polyps can also cause obstruction.
* Being overweight or
out of shape. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring.
* Alcohol, drugs, and
medications. Alcohol intake, drugs, and certain medications can increase
muscle relaxation leading to more snoring.
* Sleep posture.
Sleeping flat on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block
the airway.
Smoking and snoring
Now you may add tobacco smoking to the list of things that can
cause snoring. European researchers say past or present smoking is a
"major contributor" to the common problem, which affects up to 33% of
men and 19% of women.
Karl Franklin, MD, PhD, of the respiratory medicine
department at University Hospital in Umeå, Sweden, worked with colleagues on
the study. It's one of only a handful addressing tobacco smoke and snoring.
They evaluated questionnaires from more than 15,000 men and
women aged 25-54 in Iceland, Estonia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The study
appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and
Critical Care Medicine.
Habitual snoring, defined as loud and disturbing snoring at
least three nights per week, affected 24% of smokers, 20% of ex-smokers, and
almost 14% of people who had never smoked.
The more people smoked, the more frequently they snored. Even
nonsmokers were more likely to snore if they were exposed to secondhand smoke
in their homes.
And although more men tend to snore, female smokers were
slightly more likely to snore than male smokers. Besides smoking and gender,
snoring risk factors include obesity and upper airway abnormalities.
There are several explanations about smoking's impact on
snoring, say the researchers. One theory says smoking irritates and inflames
the upper airways, making snoring more likely. Another suggests that smokers
with overnight nicotine withdrawal have more sleep instability, raising the
risk of upper airway obstruction.
Health risks
While snoring per se carries significantly lower level of
danger for smokers, than negative impact of tobacco smoking, snorers can be still
at risk for additional serious health problems, including obstructive sleep
apnea. Sleep apnea creates several problems, including:
* Long interruptions of breathing (more than 10 seconds)
during sleep caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of the airway.
* Frequent waking from sleep, even though you may not
realize it.
* Light sleeping. People with obstructive sleep apnea sleep
lightly to try to keep their throat muscles tense enough to maintain airflow.
* Strain on the heart. Prolonged suffering from obstructive
sleep apnea often results in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of
the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke.
* Poor night's sleep. This leads to drowsiness during the
day and can interfere with your quality of life.
Lifestyle changes
There are several lifestyle changes you may strive to improve
your sleep and reduce snoring:
* Lose weight.
Losing even a little bit of weight can reduce fatty tissue in the back of the
throat and decrease or even stop snoring.
* Exercise can also
help to stop snoring. Working out to tone your arms, legs, and abs, for
example, also leads to toning the muscles in your throat, which in turn can
lead to less snoring.
* Quit smoking. If
you smoke, your chances of snoring are high. Smoking causes airways to be
blocked by irritating the membranes in the nose and throat.
* Avoid alcohol,
sleeping pills, and sedatives, especially before bedtime, because they
relax the muscles in the throat and interfere with breathing. Talk to your
doctor about any prescription medications you’re taking, as some encourage a
deeper level of sleep which can make snoring worse.
* Establish regular
sleep patterns. Create a bedtime ritual with your partner and stick to it.
Hitting the sack in a routine way together can help you sleep better and often
minimize snoring.
Bedtime remedies
* Clear nasal
passages. Having a stuffy nose makes inhalation difficult and creates a
vacuum in your throat, which in turn leads to snoring. You can do it naturally
with OTC medicines or try nasal decongestants or nasal strips to help you
breathe more easily while sleeping.
* Gargle with a
peppermint mouthwash to shrink the lining of your nose and throat. This is
especially effective if your snoring is a temporary condition caused by a head
cold or an allergy. To mix up the herbal gargle, add one drop of peppermint oil
to a glass of cold water. (But only gargle—do not swallow.)
* Reduce bedroom
allergens (dust, pet dander, and mold) to alleviate nasal stuffiness by
vacuuming floors and drapes. Change sheets and pillowcases often.
* Keep bedroom air
moist with a humidifier. Dry air can irritate membranes in the nose and
throat. A humidifier or steam vaporizer in the bedroom can keep your air
passages moist; just be sure to clean it regularly, following the
manufacturer’s instructions. Another approach: Just before bedtime, fill a bowl
with hot water, drape a towel over your head, bend over the bowl so your nose
is roughly 15 centimeters from the water, and breathe deeply through your nose
for a few minutes.
* Head reposition.
Elevating your head four inches may ease breathing and encourage your tongue
and jaw to move forward. There are specially designed pillows available to help
prevent snoring by making sure your neck muscles are not crimped.
* Avoid caffeine and
heavy meals within two hours of going to bed, especially dairy products and
soymilk.
* While physical exercise is considered as one of the best
remedies for many conditions, including snoring, it is not recommended to practice
exercise or extreme physical activities within two hours of bedtime. Exercising
five or six hours before bedtime may help you sleep more soundly.
* Sleep on your side.
Avoid sleeping on your back, as gravity makes it more likely for your tongue
and soft tissues to drop and obstruct your airway.
Throat exercises to
stop snoring
Practiced for 30 minutes a day, throat exercises can be an
effective way to reduce or stop snoring. Repeatedly pronouncing certain vowel
sounds and curling the tongue in specific ways can strengthen muscles in the
upper respiratory tract and thereby reduce snoring.
Try the following exercises to stop snoring. Start slow and
gradually increase the number of sets you do. In some cases, you may be able to
combine the exercises with other activities, such as commuting to work, walking
your dog, working out, or taking a shower.
* Repeat each vowel (a-e-i-o-u) out loud for three minutes a
few times a day.
* Place the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth.
Slide your tongue backwards for 3 minutes a day.
* Close your mouth and purse your lips. Hold for 30 seconds.
* With mouth open, move jaw to the right and hold for 30
seconds. Repeat on left side.
* With mouth open, contract the muscle at the back of your
throat repeatedly for 30 seconds. Look in the mirror to see the uvula (“the
hanging ball”) move up and down.
Alternative remedies
* Singing can increase muscle control in the throat and soft
palate, reducing snoring caused by lax muscles.
* Playing the didgeridoo may sound strange, but studies show
that learning to play a didgeridoo (native Australian wind instrument) can
strengthen the soft palate and throat, reducing snoring.
Sources and Additional
Information:
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