There are some well-known facts about snoring. For example, people snore more while lying on their back. Everybody snores from time to time. Fatigue and clogged nose are usually the most common causes of snoring in people who don’t usually snore.
Men snore twice more than women. Some snorers have difficulty accepting the fact that they snore, even when confronted by their partner, who can be greatly affected by the snoring.
However, there are many sides to snoring that remain not widely known…
Sleep deprivation
You heard the expression “sleeping like a baby”. You might hear someone snoring and instantly think that person is in a deep sleep. Of course, snoring doesn’t remind you of a baby. That is why you should never compare snoring to a good sleep. If someone was sleeping like a baby, he would sleep quiet and sweet. Snoring is not sweet at all and it shouldn’t be considered as a normal activity.
What is more, a person who snores will never wake up fresh and relaxed. Oppositely, snoring makes you tired. Your body doesn’t have the chance to completely relax, as your breathing apparatus works all night. People who snore barely ever hear the snoring sound, but the brain registers these extremely unpleasant frequencies.
What no one told you is that the brain can’t get enough of oxygen when you snore. In order to get fully relaxed, you have to enter the REM sleep pattern. This never occurs in snorers.
You are rarely fully conscious when you wake up in the night. Do you remember your partner told you that you two changed a few words in the middle of the night, but you don’t remember it? The same thing happens when your snoring wakes you up, but you don’t remember. If you do wake up, your system will try to get to the REM phase again, but the pattern will repeat numerous time during your sleep.
Facing this stress, your organism won’t get the chance to relax which will lead to chronic deprivation and fatigue.
Fatigue then leads to the other issues, such as lack of concentration, depression, hormonal imbalance and many more.
Snorers who feel constantly tired and sleepy should pay a bit more attention to their health. Sleep apnea is one of the possible snoring outcomes. Extremely loud snoring with a long breathing pauses is an almost 100% indicator of sleep apnea. If you suspect that you or someone close to you suffers from sleep apnea, our advice is to visit a doctor. We highly recommend this as sleep apnea can trigger a heart disease (followed by a heart attack or a stroke), diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and high blood pressure.
A physician can detect if you are a possible snorer
There are some indicators that can point to the possibility of becoming a snorer. That is, primarily, the anatomical structure of a person. The organs whose deviation can affect snoring are:
- Chronic sinus issues;
- Deviated septum;
- Enlarged tissue;
- Extended uvula;
- Narrow passages.
The air obstructions occur in these places the most. When you are sleeping, the oxygen goes through these respiratory organs and only a doctor or a physician can stipulate the potential issue.
Nasty lifestyle habits
Under the “nasty lifestyle” habits, we would enumerate all addictions. No addiction is good. If you are addicted to smoking, your chances of snoring instantly get higher. Smoking is probably on the top list of the addictions, but there are some more – for example, drinking alcohol.
However, we don’t say you should cut it off, as a glass of wine is recommended by the doctors. We talk about late night drinking. It is not the alcohol that induces snoring, but the effect it has on the muscles. Your body already relaxes while you are sleeping. It doesn’t need help. Alcohol may lower the tone throat muscles.
Junk food makes us addicted too. You get that uncontrollable need to snack something before bed. Soda is addictive also. Let’s be honest – you won’t get addicted to eating cabbage and carrots every day. These don’t contain ingredients that provoke an addiction. If you just have to put something in your mouth before bed, then eat an apple.
Snoring is not as naïve as it may seem. Many people wouldn’t even pay much attention to it if their partners weren’t complaining. However, everything that happens with your body and mind matters. If you read our article carefully, you got to the point – snoring is everything but good. If you are snoring, one possible solution to help yourself is buying a snore guard, or a sleeping wedge for snoring. Do the research and try to find the best snore guard on the market for you and get in the way of snoring.
