Do you often doze off while watching TV, reading a book, meeting, or even driving?
Symptoms of sleep apnea:
while sleeping:
- Mouth breathing
- The snoring will stop temporarily, then suddenly loudly again
- Breathing will stop intermittently during sleep: up to several to dozens of times per hour, each lasting for about ten to tens of seconds. Patients with severe snoring, their breathing would stop every minute.
- Waking up during sleep (half-awake or fully awake), dyspnea and rapid heartbeat after awakening
in day time:
- Headache in the morning
- Tiredness during the day, easy to doze off, difficulty concentrating, slow response
- Memory decline
- Nocturia
- Sexual dysfunction
- Grumpy
Why we snore?
Caused by a constricted airway
As your muscle relaxes when you sleep, the airway in your throat also narrows. As air goes in and out of that airway, it starts to vibrate, causing a sound, hence snoring. Sleeping on your back can further the closing of the airway, which can result in louder snores.
Affected by age, anatomy, allergies, and alcohol
As you get older, your muscle relaxes more, causing your airway to narrow further, which creates a louder, harsher snoring sound. Enlarged tonsils or a deviated septum can also cause snoring. Allergies and alcohol can also cause airways to narrow.
More common in men
40% of men are habitual snorers as compared to 24% of women.
Sometimes linked to a medical condition
A sleep test can be used to diagnose any medical condition as well as the severity of the condition. There are many ways that sleep diseases can be treated, including various devices to ensure your airway stays open during sleep.
Affected by lifestyle changes
Occasional snoring can be adjusted by sleeping position, alcohol control, weight control, nasal strips, decongestants, oropharyngeal exercises.
Related to genetics
If one of your parent’s snores, you are likely to snore as well.
4 ways to stop snoring
Implementing simple lifestyle changes may reduce snoring
Avoid Alcohol Before Bed
Some misconceptions about alcohol can relax and sleep better. Actually, it’s just the opposite. Our data shows that people’s automatic nervous response system tends to be more active after an alcoholic drink, resulting in the brain staying active overnight & ending up being more exhausted physically. Alcohol and sedatives will cause the tissues in your airway to relax & lead to snoring, so it is best to avoid them before bedtime.
Lose Weight
Weight loss may be an effective way to reduce snoring if you are overweight or obese.
Adjust Sleep Position
If you snore more when lying on your back, you may try placing a pillow behind your back. A wedge pillow may also help as it elevates the top half of your body.
Treat Allergy Symptoms
Try to find out & avoid environmental allergens whenever possible. Clear a congested nose may also help open up the airway, resulting in less snoring.
But when snoring continues after trying the above strategies, it’s better to take a sleep test to find out what happens to your body.
STOP Bang test
As patients with sleep apnea do not get enough and peaceful sleep, their daytime performance will also be severely affected.
If ignored, sleep apnea may be an indirect cause of other diseases. Asphyxiation causes chronic hypoxia. For example, it affects cardiopulmonary function, increases the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart disease, and even causes sudden death in sleep.
Belun solution
The content contained in this article is for reference purposes only and does not provide any professional diagnosis and treatment advice.
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