If you’ve ever been kept awake at night by a snorer, whether they’re in the same room as you or not, you’ll know how frustrating it can be.

While the noisy sleeper may be driving you mad by disrupting your night’s sleep, spare a thought for them – not only is their sleep also being disrupted, they could be at risk of some serious problems. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a significant medical illness that’s often associated with chronic snoring.

What causes snoring?
Snoring happens because the muscles that hold the throat open when you inhale relax when you go to sleep. In some, this results in partial closure of the airway and causes the soft tissues, such as the palate, to vibrate.

Sometimes, however, instead of a partial closure, which causes the snore, the soft tissue completely closes over and the airway becomes obstructed. When this happens it causes an obstructive apnoea. If a person has this frequently throughout the night,  they could have a disorder known as Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) or Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

Sleep apnoea issues
Your airway can become blocked when your throat muscles and tongue relax during  sleep. This can completely close off the airway and breathing may stop altogether. When this occurs, the brain is notified by myriad messages and it sends an urgent reminder to breathe immediately, causing the snorer to gasp for air. This can happen as many as five to 30 times an hour, disturbing sleep without waking the snorer. Some of the symptoms to watch out for are:

• Daytime drowsiness
• Fatigue
• Poor ability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Car and work accidents
• Prolonged suffering from OSA may result in higher blood pressure and may also lead to enlargement of the heart, which brings with it higher risks of heart attack and stroke.

The choking or shutdown of the airway means the body doesn’t receive the oxygen it needs, which causes a stress reaction in the body. This means every time a person has an obstructive apnoea they experience a flood of stress hormones, their blood pressure increases and there’s an acute inflammatory response. The inflammatory system is a key player in heart disease and stroke, and can cause damage to the delicate lining of blood vessels and increase the blood’s tendency to clot. Overweight, middle-aged men are typically the most likely ones to suffer OSA, but new research says they’re not alone.

Could I be a snorer?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, it’s important to ask your GP to explore the possibility that you might have sleep apnoea.

• Do you constantly wake up at night, wishing you could go back to sleep?
• Does your partner often say you kept them awake all night?
• Is there a family history of snoring?
• Did you have gestational diabetes, high blood pressure or any metabolic trouble with your last baby?
• Do you have high blood pressure, or have you had a heart attack or stroke?

 
Lifestyle changes

Watch your weight Slim people can get obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), but in the majority of cases, losing 10 per cent of your weight is the best solution.

Avoid excess alcohol Being under the influence causes your muscles to relax more than normal sleep does.

Change position Sleeping on your side (not your back) may fix the problem.

Snoring treatments

Dental devices These are only suitable for mild cases of OSA. They work by thrusting the jaw forward to a position that prevents the snore reflex. They’re custom-made appliances and require specialist administration.

Surgery In this case, the excess tissue is surgically removed from the palate. This was once a common treatment, but it’s not effective in the long term.

Breathing devices Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines work by keeping the throat open using air pressure. CPAP is considered the gold standard and is the most effective treatment available.