Sound Sleep Guide

Archive for January, 2007

Do you have a snoring issue that you don’t know how to solve? Knowing exactly what causes snoring is the first step in solving the problem. There are many reasons that people snore, and your problem may be due to a wide range of reasons from physical features to lifestyle choices.
In a basic sense, snoring is caused by an obstruction to the free flow of air through the cavities at the back of the mouth and nose. In this area, you can find the collapsible part of the air passage, where the tongue and the upper throat meet the soft palate and the uvula. When these structures hit each other, they vibrate and reverberate, causing what we know as snoring. Now, we’ll look at more specific reasons on why one might snore.
Poor muscle tone in the throat and the tongue are one of the key reasons that people snore. When the muscles in the throat are too relaxed, the tongue may fall into the airway or the muscles of the throat might draw in from the sides. This causes airway blockage, and consequently, a snoring problem. The muscles can be overly relaxed from drinking alcohol, as it is a depressant that makes all of your muscles relax. If you are planning on drinking in a night but don’t want to snore, it’s best to have your last drink at least four hours before you go to sleep, giving your body the time to process the alcohol and get back to normal before bed. In addition, sleeping pills are powerful muscle relaxants that behave in your body the same way as alcohol as far as snoring is concerned. Anti-histamines are also known to cause trouble with relaxing the throat muscles.
One cause of snoring is obesity. While obesity is responsible for many problems, it is uniquely troublesome to a snoring condition. In obese people, fatty tissues are deposited in the neck and throat areas. This can put pressure on the airway from which we inhale and exhale, especially when laying down. Also, when sleeping, the throat muscles relax, and they may buckle under the weight of extra fatty deposits.
Allergies may account for another reason that someone snores. When faced with allergens, nasal congestion can occur in an allergic person. This contracts the airway and can result in snoring. However, since anti-histamines are also a snoring no-go, it is best to take a nasal decongestant for any allergen troubles before sleep.
These are merely some of the reasons that one may snore. There are a host of causes to snoring, these are simply some of the more common reasons. If none of these symptoms seem like they are what is affecting you, it can be helpful to speak to a health care professional about the issue so that you can get it solved quickly and effectively. Snoring seems like a harmless problem, but it can wreak havoc on your sleep cycles and even cause such complications as heart problems and strokes if left untreated.

Are you wondering if snoring is a problem that you can pass on to your children? Unfortunately, the answer is yes, you can. According to a research study published in the journal “Chest”, children that have at least one parent that snored were three times more likely to snore themselves when compared to children whose parents had no snoring problem. The study was undertaken in order to more accurately determine the inheritance of snoring due to the fact that snoring is “the primary symptom of sleep-disordered breathing”.
Truly, snoring is a warning sign for the dreaded affliction known as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, or OSA. This disorder causes the sufferer to stop breathing while asleep due to airway obstructions. Basic, primary snoring is hindered breathing, but it is breathing nonetheless. When Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is present, the victim will stop breathing for periods longer than 10 seconds while asleep, waking them up to make them gasp and choke for air.
This problem is not only an issue in the evening, either. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea leaves the afflicted with sore throats and headaches when they wake up. The lack of sleep due to the OSA is responsible for a lack of concentration, irritability, and bad behavior. If OSA is left untreated, it can increase blood pressure, lower blood-oxygen levels, make the heart work harder, and cause a greater occurrence of heart attacks and strokes.
For the research study, 681 children in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital medical centre were studied. The researchers also found that African-American children were roughly 3 times as likely to snore then children of other races. In addition, the study showed that children who tested positive for Atopy (an early indicator of asthma and allergies) were twice as likely to snore as those children who tested negative.
Dr Maninder Kalra, the lead author of the report, stated that the benefits of the research study included identifying which children snored so that doctors could more accurately identify the high-risk groups for sleeping disorders, and be able to notify their parents to help prevent any long-term damage.
Kalra was also quoted as saying “More than 40 million children in the western world have allergies. In addition, the incidence of allergy-related respiratory diseases is a risk factor for obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, the association between Atopy and habitual snoring in young children has not been studied. “Now that we know how prevalent snoring is in children this young and that it is more common in children with positive Atopic status, parents and health care professionals can take appropriate action.”
With this knowledge, you can now tell whether or not your own children are at a risk for suffering from sleep disorders. If snoring occurs, it is important to get your child screened for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. The effects it can have on a child if left untreated are irreparable. Polysomnography tests are available at most local hospitals. They are painless, and they are often covered by insurance.

While many people in the world snore, few know exactly why their body does what it does, and how they can fix the problem. One of the most common causes of snoring is alcohol. Alcohol, a depressant, travels through all areas of the body and slows your brain’s response mechanism. In addition, alcohol relaxes the muscles of the body more so than normal sleeping does. Since your muscles are more relaxed while under the influence, your orophanyx (the back of your throat) begins to collapse more rapidly then when sober. This can be one of the root causes of why snoring occurs for an individual.
A more grave threat than merely sawing logs, however, is the chance that alcohol can cause regular snorers to induce a temporary case of sleep apnea – temporary stoppage of breathing while asleep. This is not the same as being clinically diagnosed with sleep apnea, as it occurs only when a “primary” snorer imbibes alcohol before bed. That does not mean that it is not an issue that requires addressing, however. If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night after a night of drinking with a shortness of breath, or feel extremely sluggish and tired during the daytime after a night of drinking, you may be a victim to alcohol-induced sleep apnea. If you don’t modify your lifestyle, the condition will only worsen, and sleep apnea is a tough problem to treat.
In addition to the factors above, alcohol is known to cause irritation of the nasal airway, as well as congestion that creates airway resistance while you breathe. If for some reason you are unable to stop drinking, one way to lessen the effects of alcohol on your sleeping patterns would be to make sure that you drink your last drink at least 4 hours before you go to bed. This grace period allows your body a chance to process the alcohol and reduce the effects that it may have on your sleeping, helping you to sleep without snoring.
In addition to alcohol causing problems with sleep disorders, it is also important to be careful while taking sedatives such as sleeping pills. They behave much in the same way as alcohol, causing your body to relax its muscles and inducing many of the same symptoms as alcohol. Anti-histamines have also been known to have negative effects when it comes to sleep disorders such as primary snoring and sleep apnea. If at all possible, you should avoid the consumption of any of these risk-factors before you go to sleep. When you snore, you not only affect yourself – studies have shown that bedmates can lose up to an hour of sleep per night and wake up as many as 21 times per hour when sleeping next to a snorer, in a problem known as Spousal Arousal Syndrome. So, don’t just do it for yourself – do it for your loved one! We wish you the best of luck for solving your problem. You can do it!