Myth or Fact: Is Snoring Bad for My Health?

Is snoring just a sound or a silent alarm? In most Indian homes, snoring is simply laughed away or regarded as an indicator of sound sleep. Actually, a recent survey showed that 58% of Indians think that snoring means good sleep. But is this popular notion true? In reality, snoring may be a sign of some underlying health conditions. These health risks of snoring are often underestimated. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which affects nearly 28 million individuals in India, usually remains undiagnosed due to such myths.

So the next time you or someone you know dismisses snoring as "just a noise," keep this in mind: it could be something more. Read to separate myth from facts that are being created around snoring and its effect on health. 

What Is Snoring?

When you sleep, the air you breathe through your throat causes relaxed tissues to vibrate, thus resulting in harsh breathing sounds known as snoring. A partially blocked airway causes this condition during sleep. 

You have also probably asked yourself, "Why do people snore?"

There are several reasons, such as: 

• Blocked nasal passages as a result of allergies or a cold
• Having much neck tissue or being overweight
• Taking sleeping pills or consuming alcohol prior to bed
• Ageing and a decline in throat muscular tone.

Snoring symptoms and causes vary from person to person, but recognizing them is the initial step toward establishing whether your snoring is a mere inconvenience or something more serious. 

Myth or Fact: Snoring Is Harmless

This is a myth. Snoring can represent a warning sign related to potential health issues, especially snoring that is loud, constant and accompanied by excessive daytime fatigue or gasping during sleep.

One of the major health conditions associated with snoring is sleep apnea, which is a condition involving repeated stops and starts of breathing during sleep. People with sleep apnea may also experience excessive daytime sleepiness, trouble concentrating, morning headaches, mood swings or high blood pressure.

What Health Risks Are Associated with Snoring?

Chronic snoring can represent much more serious risk issues. Some of the health risks related to snoring include:

1. Disrupted Sleep

Partial breathing blockages during snoring limit the flow of oxygen to your body. Your sleep quality suffers, as well as your nighttime awakenings and daily exhaustion, persist even though you spend enough time sleeping.

2. Hypertension

The interruption of normal breathing makes the heart work intensely to deliver oxygen to the body. Higher blood pressure develops during the year due to this additional bodily strain, thus leading to hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular risks.

3. Twice the Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease

Severe snoring and sleep apnea condition leads to a stroke or heart attack risk, which becomes nearly two times higher for patients. Repeated oxygen deprivations damage the bloodstream vessels and create extreme stress on the heart.

4. Struggles with Mental Health

You will experience changes in your mood and mental clarity when you do not sleep restfully because of chronic snoring. From persistent disturbances in sleep patterns, multiple mental health conditions, such as irritability and anxiety or memory decline and depression may develop.

5. Relationships

Gasping for air during sleep creates problems for both the one who snores and their sleeping partner. They go through sleep interruptions that cause both exhaustion and irritation. Relationships experience strained emotional bonds when two people lack quality rest due to snoring, thus affecting their shared communication.

Also Read: How to stop snoring?

Snoring and Sleep Apnea: What’s the Connection?

During sleep, sleep apnea causes repeated interruptions of breathing that constitute a serious sleep disorder. It has two main types:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

The most common type. The throat muscles relaxing excessively causes the airway to become blocked during sleep. The throat blockage results in loud snoring coupled with choking sounds or gasping.

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA)

A rarer form. During this condition, the brain fails to transmit proper instructions to breathing muscles, therefore causing temporary suspension of breath periods, which occur silently.

Symptoms include:

• Loud, frequent snoring
• Gasping or choking during sleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Morning headaches
• Difficulty concentrating

You need to consult your physician when you recognize these symptoms. The link between snoring and sleep apnea remains so powerful that not seeking treatment creates major health risks affecting your heart, brain and daily abilities.

How to Stop Snoring Naturally?

Most people strive to circumvent surgical procedures and heavy drug prescriptions for their sleep problems. Natural methods exist to understand how you can stop snoring effectively, such as: 

1. Change Your Sleep Position

Sleeping in a back position leads to the collapse of the tongue tissue and soft palate structures into your airway behind your throat. Having your side position during sleep will help keep your airway open.

2. Lose Excess Weight

Extra weight distributed near the neck region results in airway pressure during sleep. Snoring occurs when the airway collapses more easily because of this condition. A modest reduction in weight creates less breathing pressure on the airways, thus resulting in better snoring outcomes for numerous patients.

3. Stay Hydrated

A dehydrated body turns the mouth and throat tissues into sticky and dry surfaces. The tightness of airways increases during breaths, as snoring becomes more pronounced when the airway vibrates. Daily water intake lubricates the respiratory tissues, thus decreasing nighttime snoring occurrences.

4. Avoid Alcohol Before Bed

Alcohol loosens muscles in your throat, and airway collapse is easier. There is a higher likelihood of snoring or disturbed sleep. Stop consuming alcohol a minimum of two hours prior to sleeping to help minimise snoring.

5. Stick to a Sleep Schedule

Bedtime and wake-up time at the same hour every day puts your body into a consistent routine. A consistent sleep schedule eliminates fatigue and enhances sleep quality, preventing snoring from happening at night.

These simple steps can greatly lessen snoring in mild cases if you make them part of your daily routine!

When to See a Doctor?

Let's do a quick review of the significant snoring symptoms and causes that require medical care:

• Loud, long snoring
• Pauses in breathing while sleeping
• Fatigue during the day and a lack of focus
• Gasping or choking during the night
• Morning headaches
• A sore throat in the morning

Pay attention to any symptom you observe. Your body might show signs of stress without you realising it, even if you feel healthy or notice no loud snoring.

Don't Take Snoring Lightly and Get the Expert Help Quickly!

Snoring is not merely a nighttime aggravation; it may be your body's cry for assistance. Somewhere behind the sound may lie exhaustion, anxiety, or underlying health problems happening quietly in the background. The easiest thing is to dismiss it, but the wisest choice is to hear.

After all, peaceful sleep isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. And if your evenings are filled with noise, your mornings don't have to be. With skilled treatment from Apollo Spectra, you can quiet the snore and sleep soundly. Why wait for an alarm when your body is already sending out a wake-up call?