Why we snore and what helps against it

What to do against snoring

02/11/2015

Snoring can be a lot of stress for couples and a true one „relationship killer“ become. Not only is it problematic for partnerships, it can also affect your health. But snoring can be done a lot.

Burden on the partnership
Sawing breath sounds keep many people from sleeping and so straining some relationship. In addition, snoring also puts a strain on your health. The writer Kurt Tucholsky moaned in 1931: „God give us earlids“. However, this never happened, and so in many bedrooms there is still a noise level that sometimes exceeds the values ​​of the Noise Abatement Ordinance at the workplace and reaches peak levels of 93.9 decibels. As sleep researchers have determined in a new study, snoring (medical: Rhonchopathy) for a partnership means a burden not to be underestimated.

Health risks
Experts distinguish between the relatively straightforward „primary snoring“, which hardly affects the sleepers' breathing and the harmful one „obstructive snoring“, that hinders the breathing so much that it regularly suspends for a short while sleeping. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often struggle with tiredness, circulatory weakness, or headaches during the day despite regular sleep. In the case of OSA, the tongue sags back into the throat during sleep because of the loosening muscles and blocks the upper respiratory tract. In the medium term, recurrent oxygen deficiency damages the blood vessels and can lead to hypertension. In addition, the risk of heart attack and stroke increases. The typical snorer is the „Berlin morning mail“ According to obesity, the alcohol is not averse and usually sleeps on his back.

„Snoring leads to a relationship disorder“
Nocturnal sawing is not only problematic for the health. Under the leadership of Thomas Kühnel, sleep doctors from the Universities of Regensburg, Würzburg and Halle have investigated the question of how the partner's snoring is processed emotionally by his bed-mate or bed-mate. This confirmed the suspicion of the scientists. „There may be a self-reinforcing process“, so Kühnel. „The snoring leads to a relationship disorder, which in turn gives rise to an increasingly critical assessment of the snoring noise. In various patient constellations, the suspicion that the statements made in the questionnaire not so much the snoring, but the partner relationship brighten up.“

Surgery can help many sufferers
In the past, the separate bedroom was the only effective help. But about 30 years ago, Japanese ENT doctors developed a surgical method that is now considered the most common procedure. In the procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), the posterior pharyngeal opening is enlarged and enlarged by peeling the tonsils, amputation of the suppository, and removal of fat and connective tissue. „International statistics and personal experience show that with this surgery, over 80 percent of snorers are either cured or greatly improved“, said the Bernese professor emeritus Rudolf Häusler. Possible complications are usually not lasting. For example, swallowing problems can occur due to the larger opening in the throat and water can get in the patient's nose while drinking. However, the effect of the OP can diminish over the years.

Weight loss and abstinence from alcohol
But not all snorers need surgery. Often the classic recommendations already lead to success. The „Berlin morning mail“ calls some of them: According to the snoring is through consistent weight reduction by at least three pounds noticeably back. Especially against the background, as it is known that people with obesity or obesity tend to snore. Furthermore, should be dispensed with alcohol and sedatives or sleeping pills in the evening. Measures that make it difficult to sleep on the back and force the snorer into the side or prone position make sense. The newspaper concludes with a bit more unusual recommendations: According to the snoring could be fought by singing or playing a didgeridoos. For example, snoring in lean patients has been reduced in studies when they do their singing exercises over 20 minutes a day for three months. (Ad)