A survey conducted by ProSomnus found that 71% of snorers never sought treatment for their snoring. Snoring is a loud, disruptive noise produced when breathing during sleep. The cause usually lies with loose tissues in your upper airway being rattled around from throat muscles relaxing and narrowing during restless slumber, making breathing harder and producing sounds like gasping or choking noises in your voice.
Snoring is often associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which throat muscles relax causing brief pauses between breaths which leads to loud snores. OSA is a serious medical condition that negatively impacts quality of life and increases your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. OSA often leads to daytime fatigue as well as impaired memory function. Its most prominent symptoms include loud snoring, interrupted or fragmented sleep cycles, daytime fatigue and irritability.
However, not every snorer suffers from sleep apnea. Some individuals suffering from OSA do not even snore. Instead, they experience headaches, dry mouth or sore throat discomfort, fatigue, difficulty concentrating or mood swings as symptoms of their condition.
Sleep apnea-related snoring typically features loud, persistent and chronic noise that disrupts your restful night of sleep. It may produce choking or gasping sounds and may appear at any point during the night. Often accompanied by feelings of being unable to breathe properly or the sensation that you are suffocating. If this type of snoring sounds familiar to you, testing should be conducted to ascertain whether sleep apnea may exist.
Other types of snoring are usually less severe and don't produce an overwhelming feeling of being suffocated or being unable to breathe freely. Mild snoring usually doesn't pose any significant problems and does not need medical intervention or testing for diagnosis and treatment.
However, if your snoring is bothersome to someone else or disrupts their sleep and you exhibit other symptoms of sleep apnea, testing should be conducted and should result in treatment being recommended by your doctor. You can reach out to the sleep specialist at The Air Station for home-based sleep studies and sleep apnea treatment based on your condition.
If it turns out you do not suffer from sleep apnea, other strategies for improving snoring and sleeping patterns could be explored. For instance, nasal sprays or medication to widen airways could be beneficial in improving snoring issues. Or an anti-snoring mouthpiece may help keep the airway open. If you have the habit of drinking alcohol or smoking before bed, try to stop doing this to reduce irritation in your upper airway and hence your snoring.
The most essential goal is achieving optimal quality sleep to remain healthy and energetic during the day. For this to occur, follow your doctor's recommendations regarding the quality of sleep as much as possible. Or if necessary, take steps to avoid sleep apnea altogether if present.
Speak to your doctor about incorporating the tips mentioned above into your daily
routine in order to improve both sleep and blood pressure management. If you have
sleep apnea or other sleep disorder conditions, get in touch with The Air Station for
a sleep study and sleep apnea treatment.
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