Snoring And Your Health

Snoring is often viewed as a comic nuisance. Anna Jones complains of her husband’s snoring keeping her awake at nights. Anna’s children will laugh at Grandpa Ernie snoring away while napping on the sofa. And so on. But if you are the one who’s kept awake at night by your partner’s snoring, you would not consider it a laughing matter. You’re much more likely to be angry. The truth is snoring is obnoxious with many adverse health effects. Interested to know more? Then read on for some snoring causes and treatmens:

Sleep Apnea is One of the Main Snoring Causes

One of the main snoring causes is sleep apnea – a disorder of interrupted breathing during sleep caused by relaxed neck muscles associated with loss of muscle tone that often comes with aging or obesity.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when you’re your neck muscle tissues collapse your windpipe and block the airflow through your mouth and nose for anywhere between ten seconds or longer during sleep. The low intake of air retards your blood oxygen levels and forces your brain to awaken you and open your windpipe for easier breathing. This cycle is repeated hundreds of times a night.

The frequent awakenings caused by sleep apnea may lead to other issues, such as depression and other personality changes. And because sleep apnea deprives you of oxygen, it may increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. Other risks of sleep apnea may include daytime drowsiness, headaches and lack in your ability to concentrate or to remember.

Adult Snorers Are at Risk for Strokes

One research study that evaluated some 1,350 adult snorers found that lack of restful sleeping due to snoring may increase the likelihood of suffering a stroke. Doctor Adnan I. Qureshi, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the study’s lead author, recommends that people who snore or having trouble staying awake during the day should talk with their doctor, dentist or healthcare provider.

Health Effects of Snoring in Children

Loud snoring is a breathing disorder caused by blockage of the upper airway during sleep, according to Dr. David Gozal and his colleague Dennis Pope, Jr., researchers at the University of Louisville, and is often associated with ADHD, asthma, aggressive behavior, and can adversely affect academic performance.

Doctor Gozal’s team interviewed more than 1,500 middle-school students. Thirteen percent of the bottom-ranked students reported frequent snoring compared with only 5 percent of students ranked in the top quarter.

Another study conducted by Dr. Gozal and his research team found a connection between snoring and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. His conclusion was based on data collected from more than 5,000 six-year-olds and surveying parents of more than 11,000 first-graders. More than twice as many ADHD children snored frequently compared with the general group of children.

When treated for their loud snoring, the ADHD symptoms decreased substantially and in some instances disappeared altogether.

The research findings also suggest that children with sleep-disordered breathing or snoring may be at risk of an irreversible compromise of their intellectual potentials for academic achievement.

So if your child exhibits frequent loud snoring, you should consider having him or her evaluated by your dentist, doctor and/or a pediatric sleep specialist.

You can read more articles on living with snoring or how to stop snoring by exloring our Snoring 101 section or exploring our most recent and most popular articles below.