Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea, Snoring

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by admin in Sleep — Normal and Abnormal

Snoring occurs when your soft palate (the back part of the roof of your mouth) vibrates. A number of factors cause this. The muscle tone in your tongue and soft palate tends to decrease during sleep. They become more relaxed and can collapse together. This contributes to snoring. Other soft tissues, such as tonsils and tongue, can produce sounds that add to or change the quality of the snoring.

The position of the sleeper affects the amount of snoring. Lying on your back allows your tongue to fall back toward your throat and block your airway, so you are more likely to snore when you are lying on your back.

Anything that obstructs your airway will also contribute to snoring. For example, you are more likely to snore if you have large adenoids or a large tongue or if your nasal passages are swollen from a cold or allergies.

Age is also a factor. Older people tend to snore more because muscle tone tends to decrease with age.

Other factors also aggravate snoring; alcoholic beverages, certain medications, and sheer physical exhaustion may be associated with heavy snoring.

Mere snoring, by itself, is not the same as sleep apnea. Many people snore without having the complete interruptions of breathing and sleep that are the signs of sleep apnea. Light or occasional snoring that does not interrupt breathing is not a health threat, although it can be a terrific annoyance to a sleeping partner. The solutions to harmless occasional snoring include the following:

1. Sleep on your side. You can train yourself to sleep on your side using a sleep position monitor.

2. Avoid alcohol before going to bed.

3. Check with your doctor to see whether any medication you are taking (either by prescription or over the counter) may be aggravating the snoring.

4. If nasal congestion is a problem, ask your doctor about an antihistamine to reduce swelling.

5. Decrease your body weight.

6. The sleeping partner can wear soft foam earplugs when necessary. They are available from industrial safety stores.

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Tags: Sleep Apnea, snoring