My Partner Is Threatening To Leave Me If I Don’t Stop Snoring! Help Me!

Don’t break up! Get treated!

Snoring is by no means rare. Some estimates put the number of people in the U.S. who snore at one time or another at up to 50% of the adult population- that's nearly 150 million people!

If you want to do something about your snoring, get diagnosed by a certified sleep specialist. It may be covered by your insurance. The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine is one of several recognized groups that specifically help problem snorers. By the way, twice as many men snore than women (80% to 40% according to softpedia.com). A polysomnogram (PSG) or sleep test for a number of hours or overnight) should be taken to confirm problem snoring.

The sound of snoring is caused by the vibration of the nasal and/or soft palate tissues against the tissues of the walls of the throat during inhalation, exhalation, or both. The actual cause of snoring can be multifactorial and may even "run in the family.” Nathaniel Kleitman, the so-called "Father of Sleep Research" published a book in 1939, called Sleep and Wakefulness, pioneered the classification of sleep disorders for better diagnosis and treatment standardization. If breathing is interrupted or stopped for 10-20 seconds or more at a time, the person may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). Nuvigil.com states that over 18 million people have OSA, the most common sleep apnea where people stop breathing (have apneic episodes) hundreds of times during an eight-hour sleep session. The apnea hypopnea index (AHI) is the average number of pauses in breathing that occurs per hour of sleep.

National Sleep Foundation says that 70% of all congestive heart failure and 60% of all strokes are directly related to some form of sleeping disorder, primarily obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  People with OSAS are also at an increased risk of suffering from high blood pressure, depression, diabetes, carotid artery atherosclerosis, sudden death, chronic fatigue, restless sleep leading to sleep deprivation or deficits, morning headaches, frequent trips to the bathroom, daytime micro-sleep episodes or sleeping at work or school (watch out for accidents!), lowered sex drive, and memory loss.

All treatments revolve around clearing the blockage of the airway. Recommendations may include weight loss, refraining from alcohol or drugs that relax the throat muscles, reducing the size of the tonsils if they contribute to constricting the airway, sleeping on one's side instead of on the back, dental appliances that reposition the jaw forward, or tongue positioners to move the tongue away from the back of the throat. A continuous positive air pressure machine (CPAP) is a medical device that pumps a controlled stream of air through a hose to a mask placed over the mouth and nose, and may help in extreme cases, if the patient can tolerate wearing it. Many of the appliances offered today may only reduce the amount snoring, not totally eliminate it.

May you have many…meditatively quiet, reconstituting, wake up with energy… smiles