I was a snorer. I bade ‘good bye’ to snoring after I lost weight. That was when wife was about to say, 'get lost'.  I overheard her talking with a couple: “You have not slept until you have slept with him” A gem to highlight how hard to put up with snoring partner!  

I met a ‘gentleman’ who told how he stopped a fellow passenger snoring. He simply woke him up snoring in adjacent seat and told him how beautiful he was. Well. That made him sit up bolt upright all through the journey when he slept undisturbed. I heard of another who lost five jobs for snoring.   

Snoring comes in various sounds, sawing wood or cutting ‘Zees’ in the air, the sounds doors and windows make in a storm, sometimes mewing cats or growling of dogs and some percussion instruments that blare music.  

Heavy snoring is no joke and it is a genuine medical disorder that needs to be checked by ENT and/or sleep specialists first thing.  Sleep partners of the snorers lose almost as much sleep as snorers (remember passive smokers) affecting performance at work or home, also reason why they tend to sleep during the day. It is said 30 to 50 %   snore, age increasing the susceptibility. Sleep disorders unsettle having behavioral and psychological aspects involved affect productivity and fertility of society. It is shocking about the likely connection between heavy snoring with and heart attacks/ strokes.  

Causes: Snoring is the result of the movement of air breathed in and out during sleep, either from nose or mouth when it gets obstructed and produce vibrations that eventually end in sounds over tissues in the airway. One snores due to narrowing of airway in the throat caused by any one or more or all of the following:  

1. Bad sleeping postures

2. Obstruction by enlarged uvula and soft palate?

2. Sleep induced weakness in the throat muscle

4. Fat tissue in the surrounding areas of throat

5. Ill positioning of lower jaw due to tension in the muscles;

6. Tongue rolled into the throat when sleeping on the back;

7...Congenitally having a narrow airway due to size & shape of head & neck.

9. Hypothyroid and other disorder and syndromes

10. Hyperacidity (cause as well as symptom)

11. Smoking (including passive smoking) and so on.  

Relief: It is always safe to sleep on the side to prevent tongue going into throat due to gravity. Pillows help create more problem than comfort. A folded towel under the neck will serve better. It is better if the headboard is raised a bit for head and shoulders to rest for easy breathing. Sleeping on a full stomach should be avoided and also avoided drinks and pills before bed. Streamlining sleeping patterns and hours help.  

What should worry? We know most babies and pets snore lightly. Light or primary snoring without ‘sleep apnea’ is very common. Even then consulting experts is better since these days even light snoring is viewed seriously by some doctors especially in children. Snoring also occurs when one is afflicted with cold or other allergies. And it will soon pass once the virus or allergy is behind. What should worry in my opinion is the heavy snoring accompanied by sleep apnea ( gasping for breath and waking up in the middle of the night on frequent basis. accompanied or preceded by severe sweating  or being not awake and yet undergoing the symptoms as revealed by the sleep partner or observer or the tap)  

Of course heavy drinkers get extra relaxation in their tongues and throat muscles, uvula and soft palate. The latter produce sounds as suffering from snoring and later a hangover. Same is with sedatives. However children should never be neglected when suffering from sleep related problems. Lest they tend to under perform in the classes maybe due to lack of sufficient oxygen in the brain, and in the long run may end up with more problems. So we need to get them checked up by specialists who see if tonsils or adenoids cause the problem and need to be removed by surgery. Those obese tend to snore more; and the culprit is the fat around the neck and throat. Even fat in stomach will act on diaphragm that leads to snoring. Snoring is a serious cause for reduced libido or sex drive. 

Dangers of Sleep apnea: Some heavy snorers may have a disorder called Sleep Apnea. The sufferers wake up next morning hardly realizing they woke up off and on last night for at least hundred times each time for a brief pause lasting a few seconds to a minute. This was due to lack of free airflow in the passageway in the throat thanks to obstructions. In the case air had to be breathed with force in a jerk, snort or choke when lungs used extra pressure prompted by the brain sensing imbalances in Carbon dioxide and Oxygen levels in the blood. At the same time brain wakes up the patient briefly to make him or her take air deliberately into lungs. In 90% of cases sleep apnea patients hardly realize the whole thing happening.  BP might also increase and in the long run it may lead to arteriosclerosis (in heart) and/or stroke in brain.   

Surgery and devices: Apnea patients may need surgery in some cases according to the doctors when some tissue is removed from throat region. Some doctors advise recording a night’s sleep to diagnose the disorder easily and accurately. Some devices make continuous air flow possible, whereas some other appliance is used in the lower jaw to keep it intact and prevent snoring. 

PS: I don’t mean to scare readers but only want to make them aware and alert those suffering and yet not knowing as I myself was a patient once who underwent some symptoms unwittingly and suffered. I advise readers to get the correct and complete advice on any specific case of sleep disorder from the physicians.