Snoring is a condition in which an individual produces a snorting sound or noise during sleep. This condition is due to the flow of air from the mouth or nasal cavities through the throat. In this case, the airflow from the nose or the mouth to the lungs causes the vibration of the airway tissues. Snoring affects both men and women.
However, studies reveal that men are more affected than women. Some of the symptoms of snoring include the obvious noise that you make when you are asleep, sore throat, and dry mouth…
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Health Risks Associated With Snoring
Habitual snoring can be a sign of a serious health problem, including obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea creates several problems, including:
- Interruptions of breathing (lasting from a few seconds to minutes) during sleep caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of the airway
- Frequent waking from sleep, even though you may not realize it
- Light sleeping. Waking up so many times a night interferes with the normal pattern of sleep, causing more time to be spent in light sleep than in more restorative, deeper sleep.
- Strain on the heart. Prolonged suffering from obstructive sleep apnea often results in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke.
- Poor night’s sleep. This leads to drowsiness during the day and can interfere with your quality of life and increase risk for car accidents.
Snoring has been attributed to so many factors that revolves around health, lifestyle, genetic, hygiene, and other environmental conditions. Therefore, the following are some of the causes and thereafter the solutions for curbing this sleep disorder:
1. Pregnancy and obesity
Both obesity and pregnancy can cause an individual to snore while sleeping. Obese individuals have excess fats on their throats or just around the neck region. Research studies shows that, people who have a circumference that is more than 43cm on their necks snore a lot as compared to people with less neck circumference. Pregnant mothers also have bulky throat tissues limits the airflow and thus causing them to snore a lot while sleeping.
2. Nasal congestion and allergies
Nasal congestion happens as a result of nasal structure and other environmental conditions. In this case, it can be dust, genetic factors, cold or flu, and nose deformities. Both nasal congestion and allergies can cause blockage of the airflow and thus a vacuum that is created in the throat makes an individual to snore as he or she forces the air into the lungs.
3. Drinking alcohol and smoking
Smoking and alcohol drinking is also a major cause that is associated with this awful condition. This happens since both the tongue and the throat muscles become relaxed. Any of the substance that can make the muscles of the throat to relax can also cause an individual to snore.
4. Sleep posture
Sleeping posture also matters. If you want to avoid snoring, you should always learn to sleep on your sides. Sleeping on the back also causes the throat muscles to relax. Ideally, most of the people who have this condition also have the wrong sleeping posture. The posture is also dictated by the comfort of the mattress and the pillows. In this case, without the proper pillow orientation, you might feel the same airflow effect that will make you to snore.
5. Age
Snoring is mostly associated with the middle-aged individuals and the old. When a person is growing older and older, the throat continues to become narrower. In addition, the muscle tone of the throat decreases and thus causing airflow difficulty when asleep. It is possible to practice other lifestyle changes that will help in reducing the same problem.
Here’s how to fix it
While snoring is caused by so many factors as mentioned above, there are awesome recommended and healthy ways that can be adopted in the treatment of the same condition:
- Exercises. Obesity or excess weight is one of the causes of snoring. Exercises are helpful in toning and strengthening the throat muscles thus creating a healthy pathway for air passage.
- Clear nasal passages.
- Quit smoking and ditch the alcohol.
- Change the sleeping position.
Things to remember
Some of the other solutions that have been found effective in reducing snoring include the following practices:
- Establishing a healthy sleep pattern
- Keeping the bedroom air moist at all times.
- Use of anti-snoring mouth devices.
As much as snoring is a serious problem, there is always a solution. It is therefore important to identify the cause in order to find a perfect solution and thus gain access to better sleep.