Snoring: Harmless or Dangerous?

Although snoring is considerably harmless, it is a sign of underlying health problems, especially if you snore heavily. If you snore occasionally, due to congestion or seasonal allergies, it can be ignored. However, chronic snoring might be a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, wherein there are frequent pauses in breathing, when you are asleep. OSA enhances the risk of daytime drowsiness, chronic fatigue, cardiovascular diseases and more.

What Causes Snoring?

You snore when the airflow through the nasal passages is partially blocked, which leads to the loose tissue in the throat to vibrate as air passes over it. Some of the reasons behind the snoring are:

• Obstructed nasal airways- due to seasonal allergies, inflamed adenoids or deviated septum.
• Poor muscle tone in the throat– makes the throat tissue loose and that vibrates when you inhale/exhale, causing snores.
• Excess weight– The extra fat layers over the throat and chest area compresses the airway tissues, leading to snoring.
• Sleep position – Sleeping on the back increases pressure on the airways.

When Snoring Becomes Dangerous

Here are some reasons when snoring becomes dangerous and needs immediate medical attention:

• Sleep Apnea (Obstructive or Central): Frequent pauses in breathing accompanied by loud snoring is a sign of sleep apnea. OSA occurs when the relaxed throat muscles and loose tissues fall back into the throat, blocking the airways. While CSA happens when the brain fails to signal the right breathing pattern. Sleep apnea leads to daytime drowsiness, fatigue and other health issues, due to fragmented sleep.
• Risk of Cardiovascular Problems: Chronic loud snoring and untreated sleep apnea enhances the risk of stroke, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. That is due to low oxygen levels and fragmented sleep leading to sleep deprivation which affects the heart.
• Reduced Oxygen Levels During Sleep: Interrupted and fragmented sleep leads to sleep deprivation and combined with chronic snoring leads to low blood oxygen levels. It starts affecting the internal organs over time while chronic fatigue, cognitive impairments and daytime drowsiness affect overall quality of life.
• Impact on Partners’ Sleep and Relationships: Chronic loud snoring affects the bed partner’s quality of sleep, creating a wedge in personal relationships due to mood swings and sleep deprivation.

How to Identify Dangerous Snoring

Seasonal allergies lead to snoring. That is harmless but there are ways to identify snoring that is a health hazard and dangerous. Oftentimes, snoring needs medical attention if you wake up gasping frequently, have pauses in breathing when asleep, throughout the night and have loud snoring, you have sleep apnea and needs immediate attention of a doctor. Additionally, if you are experiencing low alertness levels, cognitive impairment, daytime fatigue, despite adequate sleep hours along with morning headaches, it is possible you have undiagnosed sleep apnea. Schedule a visit with a doctor immediately.

Tips to Manage Snoring and Reduce Risks

Snoring can be dangerous, especially if you are loud snoring regularly and waking up gasping for breath. There are ways to manage snoring and reduce the health risks associated with it. Here are a few:

• Weight loss and regular exercise– Regular exercise improves muscle mass and tone, helping you lose weight and reducing the pressure on your airways and mitigate the risk of snoring. By strengthening the loose throat tissues, when you breathe in and out, it lowers the vibration and thus, you snore less.
• Sleeping on your side instead of your back- By sleeping on your side, you keep your airways open, and breathe better, reducing the snoring.
• Using nasal strips or a humidifier- Nasal strips, Asonor anti snoring nasal sprays or even a humidifier can help keep the ambient air moisturized, reducing dryness of nasal tissues. It widens the airways and reduces snoring.
• Seeking medical treatment for underlying conditions- There are multiple underlying conditions such as inflamed tonsils, adenoid glands, deviated septum, a long soft palate or uvula can be corrected by surgery. If that was the underlying cause of snoring, you will be treated.

Conclusion

Snoring can be harmless or dangerous, depending upon the root cause. Mild or occasional snoring due to allergies or nasal congestion can be ignored. However, regular and chronic snoring can be dangerous as it maybe, sleep apnea, which is linked to impending health issues such as stroke, sleep apnea, cardiovascular diseases and more. Consult with a medical professional to evaluate and treat the snoring.