Complaints such as waking up tired in the morning, headache, constant sleepiness, concentration disorder during the day can be experienced due to snoring or sleep apnea.
Snoring can be prevented by measures such as losing weight, changing sleep position, quitting alcohol and smoking. However, if the problem is not a simple snoring but sleep apnea that manifests itself with the interruption of breathing, oral devices that keep the airways open during sleep, respirators that give positive pressure or surgical treatments can be applied. Experts provided information about snoring and sleep apnea.
Do you know why you snore?
Snoring occurs as a result of the trembling of the soft palate as air passes through the upper respiratory tract in the airway stenosis. Snoring is not a disease, but can be a sign of different underlying diseases. Snoring can have many causes.
- Excess weight can cause snoring.
- Any anatomical stenosis or disease that blocks the trachea, upper respiratory tract, narrowing the passage, can cause snoring.
- Deformities in the jaw or upper palate can prepare the ground for snoring.
- In pregnancy, snoring may increase because the upper respiratory tract narrows due to edema and the mucous membranes swell.
- Snoring can be seen because alcohol use relaxes the respiratory muscles.
- Snoring is more common when there is heavy smoking, inflammation (non-microbial inflammations) and narrowing of the upper respiratory tract.
- Sleeping pills used to sleep comfortably can also trigger snoring.
- Small tongue and soft palate swelling are also among the causes of snoring.
- Especially in children, swelling and growth of the tonsils and nasal flesh can lead to snoring and sleep apnea.
Along with snoring, your breath may also be out of breath
Snoring is the result of narrowing of the airway, while sleep apnea is a complete obstruction of the airway and cessation of breathing. Breathing arrest can occur during sleep for reasons such as relaxation of respiratory muscles during sleep, transition to horizontal position, body and brain to rest at the same time. It can be considered normal for breathing to stop up to 5 times per hour during sleep. However, if there is more than 5 breathing interruptions per hour, sleep apnea becomes pathological and damages the body. The diagnosis of sleep apnea is made by examining parameters such as breathing, heart rhythm, brain waves and sleep quality in sleep laboratories.
Pay attention to these symptoms:
Patients may not feel their own snoring or shortness of breath in their sleep. Usually, a doctor is consulted after their partner complains that they are “snoring” or “out of breath”. People with snoring or sleep apnea may experience some complaints during the day;
- Sore throat in the morning (due to sleeping with the mouth open)
- Not being able to get out of bed and feeling tired during the day
- Sleepiness during the day
- Headache (Headache may be experienced especially in the morning because the oxygen level taken during sleep decreases.
- High blood pressure and especially the inability to control blood pressure despite the use of medication.
- Diabetes that cannot be controlled despite medications
- Gaining weight because the metabolism slows down
- Sexual dysfunction in men
- Traffic accidents or impaired concentration, which can lead to falling asleep at lights. In children, this situation may be reflected as school failure.
- Sometimes the cause of sudden fainting can be due to snoring or sleep apnea.
Treatment varies according to the degree of sleep apnea
Determining the degree of people with sleep apnea is important for treatment. Breathing interruption between 5-15 per hour is classified as mild, between 15-30 as moderate, and over 30 as severe sleep apnea. In patients with severe sleep apnea, respirator treatment called CPAP is usually applied. In those with mild and moderate sleep apnea, surgical treatments may be preferred to change the sleeping position, apparatus that allows the jaw to be pulled forward or anatomical stenosis. With the treatments applied, sleep apnea can be controlled and the complaints experienced can be eliminated.
In cases where there is no sleep apnea but only snoring is experienced, snoring can be eliminated by different methods.
Simple recommendations to relieve snoring:
Even a simple method such as changing the lying position can relieve snoring. For this, apparatus such as side lying pillows can be used.
- Apparatus that pulls the jaw forward
- Alcohol and smoking cessation
- Lose weight
- Cessation of sleeping pills or drugs that cause edema in the upper respiratory tract
- Paying attention to sleep hygiene can relieve snoring.