Snoring

I used to hold the family and neighborhood record for snoring. No Kidding! I was told that I even rattled windows with my snoring repertoire. Funny thing was I never heard myself snoring – that is until my younger brother tape-recorded me one night. I quickly became a believer. My problem snoring finally led to me being diagnosed with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I am not alone. They are many others who have the same problem.

Snoring is a major cause of marriage breakdown and the source of endless jokes. Twenty-five percent of adults habitually snore while forty-five percent snore occasionally. Males and overweight people including overweight women in menopause are most prone to severe snoring. Snoring gets worst with age.

Most people who snore have no idea that they snore unless their sleeping companions tell them. But in most cases there is a certain amount of denial. If you snore as I used to, then you are in good company. Famous people like Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini, Grover Cleveland, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were all known to snore prolifically.

What is snoring? If you have never heard anyone snoring then you are lucky. Snoring is that loud noise you hear when someone breathes in and out while sleeping. It is primarily caused by the vibration of the soft palate at the top of the mouth and the uvula in the back of the throat. Under normal circumstances, snoring can be relatively quiet and not very disturbing. But then something happens and the snoring becomes loud and obnoxious. It then becomes a medical problem and if untreated can lead to complications such as Sleep Apnea and divorce!

There are two basic types of snoring - Primary Snoring (PS) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Primary snoring is just loud noises generated by sleepers in the upper airways while breathing. PS, also known as noisy breathing during sleep, simple snoring, benign snoring and rhythmical snoring, is characterized by dryness of the mouth after waking, lack of being tired and your spouse or bed partner complaining about being kept awake by you all night. OSA is snoring with episodes of Apnea or interruptions of breathing. It is a recognized medical condition that will be examined in a future article. Sleep Apnea can lead to heart disease, hypertension, stroke and a number of other medical conditions.

Snoring is caused by a blockage of the air passage, which prevents normal breathing while asleep. When you are awake, your throat muscles are tensed and keep the throat open. But when you fall asleep these muscles relax. If they relax too much, they partially or fully block your airways resulting in snoring. Blockage of the nasal passage from a cold, sinusitis or accident forcing you to breathe through your mouth can also result in snoring. An allergy to dust, mold, wheat or eggs, and deformities in the nasal pathway, excessive use of alcohol and sleeping pills, as well as smoking, enlarged tonsils, taking a cough mixture containing dextromethorphan and excess body weight are other factors that contribute to snoring.

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