Over 50% of people above the age of 45 snore once in a while. It’s a normal thing and nothing to worry about.
However, if you or your partner snore loudly every night, it’s more of an annoyance and you definitely want to seek a solution (snoring is actually easy to avoid).
But sometimes it is not just a mild inconvenience to the other members in the room. Snoring can indicate a serious problem that can put you at risk for dangerous conditions like stroke, heart attack, diabetes or hypertension.
Generally, snoring is an indication that air isn’t flowing freely through the throat and nasal passages. It can occur due to many reasons. Nasal congestion, cold and allergies are common causes of snoring. It can also be caused sometimes by swollen tonsils, taking pain medications, alcohol consumption or smoking.
Sleeping on one side, using nasal sprays and using a room humidifier are the common remedies for general types of snoring.
However, a type of chronic snoring that actually has an impact on the sleeping hours can indicate a serious sleep disorder that is called sleep apnea.
In this condition, snoring occurs because some of the muscles in the back of the throat relax too much, while other are too tense. This disrupts your breathing, causing the throat irritation and sometimes a dangerous choking sensation.
The most common signs to look out for are drowsiness during the day and gasping/choking in sleep. A person sharing the bed or someone in the same room will be able to identify and spot the condition so that it can be treated in a timely manner.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) spells trouble because sleep deprivation can cause a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood and create great stress for the brain. People with this condition are at a higher risk of developing hypertension, heart attack, diabetes and stroke.
But the good news is you don’t need medicines or special treatments to cure sleep apnea. In most cases, changes in lifestyle like reducing consumption of alcohol, quitting smoking, regular exercise and weight loss can all help in improving the condition.
In fact, recent study has revealed that as little as 5% reduction in body weight, can seriously improve, even completely eliminate sleep apnea.
But the best way to eliminate snoring and sleep apnea is to directly focus on the throat muscles. Using simple exercises, you can train the muscles around the throat to stay open day and night.
Snoring is a common problem and usually seems to be a harmless habit. But this habit, in most cases, is a nuisance to your bed partner. Normal result of snoring is the lack of sleep, and drowsiness in the day time. In some cases, it can lead to serious health problems also. So do not think that it is harmless habit. Normally medicines are not effective, practice some life style changes for the eradication of this problem because good and sufficient sleep is a must for our health.
Common knowledge packaged to sell “secrect remedies” to the uneducated. SCAM = So Called Alternative Medicine