Snoring and Sleep Disorders

May 23, 2008 by Tammy

Snoring is no stranger to almost half the world’s population. That’s quite an impressive statistic. Some people snore less than others while many suffer from chronic snoring.

Snoring can be more that just a nuisance or an annoyance to anyone else trying to sleep within ear shot. Some studies even indicate that snoring can, in fact be linked to sleep apnea and even health conditions such as high blood pressure, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and type II diabetes.

Snoring (the sounds) essentially is a result of an obstruction to the free flow of air. This obstruction causes the soft tissue to vibrate thus producing the snoring sounds.

With adult snoring there are a variety of causes including a stuffy nasal passage, a deviated septum, a thick soft palate, enlarged tonsils, adenoids, and more.

A side effect of sleep apnea in an adult is snoring. With sleep apnea the person will stop breathing any where from 10 to 30 seconds. This can occur several times during the course of the night and it results in a deprivation of oxygen to the entire body. The lack of sound sleep and oxygen to a person suffering from this will adversely affect the body.

The affects of sleep apnea will eventually snowball into a feeling of always feeling tired and fatigued, along with being irritable, a loss in productivity, overall poor mental health, and even weaken the immune system.

Staying fit with a regular exercise program will help lessen the chances of you snoring… as well as help you lose some weight. Avoid sedatives and antihistamines if you suffer from mild or occasional snoring. Sleeping on your side will also help keep your breath-way open and lessen your snoring, also elevation your body from the waist up just a few inches will also help with mild cases of snoring.

With chronic or excessive adult snoring you may need to consult with your doctor and get a medical examination to determine the best steps.

The range of medical treatments for snoring vary from the simple such as a non-invasive orthodontic appliance to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) to a more complex treatment such as Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP).

Both of these types of treatments are a step beyond the more traditional treatments for snoring and would only be used under the advice and care of your doctor if more tradition remedies simply did not work.