If you belong to the 45% of normal adults who snore, or have the pleasure of knowing someone who does, you should not take lightly. Although snoring may be something that comes to mind when we think of wonderful aunts and uncles napping on the couch, prop-vol from Sunday lunch, there is much more to snoring than what meets the ear. Besides the fact that a snoring spouse often disturbs the seeping routine of their partner, 75% of people who snore suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (when breathing is disrupted during sleep) which carries some serious health implications. Here are some of the ways in which snoring can negatively impact your health:
- Lowering of white blood cells: due to the lack of deep-sleep caused by snoring, the number of infection-fighting antibodies in your immune system decreases negatively affecting your body’s ability to fight off disease or illness.
- Suppression of melatonin: melatonin; the sleep-promoting hormone that our body produces at night to help alleviate stress allowing us to catch those much-needed zzzzzzz come bedtime. In some way or a another, all our lives have undergone some drastic changes during the past 2 years. This has undoubtedly led to higher stress levels across the board. As a result, melatonin is easily one of our greatest tools to fight sleepless nights. To add to that, lower melatonin levels are directly associated with a greater risk of cancer. Long story short; melatonin is your friend, so treat is as such!
- Decreased Productions of cytokines: Cytokines; our body’s chemical messengers essential for suppressing infection and inflammation are significantly decreased when our bodies are in a sleep-deprived state.
BUT, enough now with all the doom and gloom. The effects of snoring have somewhat unsavoury health implications but replace the” S” in snoring for the one on superman’s chest and you get hope (cue emotional yet uplifting Superman music). The flip side to this coin is that there are many extensively researched methods to stop snoring. Here are a couple ways to get the snore out the door:
- Change your sleeping position: lying on your back makes your soft palate and tongue collapse on the back wall of your throat. This causing a vibrating sound when sleeping. Something as simple as sleeping on your side instead of on your back can significantly decrease your chances of snoring.
- Open your nasal passages: If snoring starts in your nose, keeping those nasal passages clear may help to stop snoring. If your nose is blocked or narrowed due to a blockage (be it a cold, allergies, etc.), air will flow through your nose at a greater speed which is much more likely to produce snoring. So, whether is an Allergex, nasal spray or straight up Vicks to the chest, making sure your nasal passages are clear before sleeping is a definite must.