Loud snoring is not just annoying–it is generally a sympton of obstructive sleep apnea, a very serious and potentially life threatening condition. The condition negatively impacts on a person’s blood pressure, heart and lungs. It makes it almost impossible for you or your partner to get a good night’s sleep.
Snoring may be a minor nuisance or a serious health risk or relationship breaker. In this article you will learn about some of the more common snoring causes and snoring rememdies.
Snoring may be as little as an occasional rumble to a consistent hair-raising thunder show. The cause, however, is always the same, according to Rochelle Goldberg, MD, President of the American Sleep Apnea Society: “tissue vibration as air forces through your airway.” In other words, snoring happens when air cannot flow freely through your airway when you sleep.
Always sleepy because of your sleep apnea symptoms, but hate wearing your CPAP? The options for sleep apnea treatment and snoring sufferers has evolved significantly in the past ten years. A quick online search for snoring and sleep apnea treatment options will yield results that range from simple diet modifications and special pillows through nasal strips, different surgical procedures as well as the use of devices such as the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machines. All of these sleep apnea treatment options have one main objective: to keep the airway passages in your throat open so that they do not vibrate against each other as they relax during sleep causing the snoring sound.
A snoring problem is annoying, but even worse, its associated with serious health risks.
The good news is that snoring is treatable. While many treatment options are available, surgery is often considered a last resort. However, one form of surgery, the Pillar Procedure is a minimally non-invasive technique used to treat snoring problems as well as mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms. It’s quick – 20 minutes or less, can be done in a doctor or dentist’s office and you can usually resume your normal activities the same day.
What is Polysomnography?
Polysomnography, the most common type of sleep study, is a test used to determine sleep patterns in people with sleeping disorders by recording brain waves during sleep, oxygen levels in the blood heart rate and breathing patterns. The test is normally performed in a hospital or at a sleep study center where professionals can monitor patients overnight in order to diagnose sleeping disorders.
WHAT IS OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA (OSA)?
OSA is one of the most common causes of snoring, occurring when the muscles in the upper throat relax during sleep and block the flow of air into the lungs causing a person’s breathing to stop for a significant period of time, sometimes as long as 10 or more seconds.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is one out of the two forms of Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea is a disorder defined by long pauses in breathing or shallow breaths that occur during sleep. The result of this sleep-disordered breathing is insufficient air reaching the lungs, which can cause the sleeper to wake up gasping for breath.
Sleep Apnea Tongue Pacemaker
Doctors at Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Department of Otolaryngology have successfully implanted a tongue pacemaker to prevent sleep apnea and snoring.