How Snoring Affects Your Sleep The Bard himself, William Shakespeare, seemed pretty forgiving in King Henry IV, Part 1when he said of the king’s snoring, “Hark, hear how hard he fetches breath.” The British writer and composer Anthony Burgess who gave us the classic film A Clockwork Orange, wasn’t so willing to forgive and forget when he commented, “Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone.” Husbands and wives willingly tolerate a lot of each other’s personal quirks over the course of a marriage —knuckle cracking, toenail clipping, off-key singing, leaving the toilet seat up—but it takes a very strong bond to deal with snoring, one of the most annoying and profound threats to married bliss besides ESPN. One thing about snoring is that it’s everywhere. 40% of us are snorers, and 25% of us are considered heavy snorers. That’s a lot of nighttime noise across America. What is snoring and why do we do it? Snoring is the unmistakable snorting or rattling sound that happens when there is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the upper air passage at the back of the mouth and nose while sleeping.
The area at the back of the throat narrows when the muscles there relax during sleep. The air trying to move through the narrowed space causes the tissues to vibrate causing the snoring sound. Some of the most common causes of snoring are: sleeping on one’s back which causes the tongue to drop to the back of the mouth and block the free flow of air nasal congestion from colds, allergies, or some deviation in the nasal structure that affects air flow (deviated septum, broken nose, etc.) drinking alcoholic beverages or taking certain medications like sleeping pills or muscle relaxants before bedtime which cause the throat muscles, the tongue, and air passages to over- relax, allowing them to vibrate being overweight or pregnant which may account for excess tissue in the airways genetic factors like long tonsils, large adenoids, long soft palate, or long uvula a history of smoking which tends to relax the throat and tongue muscles the natural aging process
Snoring can be more than just noisy Snoring can go from annoying to dangerous in the case of obstructive sleep apnea, a common but serious sleep-related breathing disorder. Sufferers of sleep apnea literally stop breathing while they’re sleeping for as long as thirty to forty seconds because their airways become blocked by the collapse of the tissue in the back of their throats while they sleep. The muscles of the upper airway relax naturally when we fall asleep. If we sleep on our back, the tongue falls backward into the airway, narrowing the flow of air and causing the tissues to vibrate which causes the snoring. A sleep apnea sufferer’s airway becomes blocked while asleep, cutting off the supply of oxygen. This can happen to someone with sleep apnea several times a night or several hundred times. The constant struggle for steady oxygen flow becomes exhausting, and the apnea victim often wakes up tired, irritable, and unable to concentrate at work the next day.
The long-term implications for sleep apnea victims can be high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and depression unless controlled. Can the right mattress help certain types of snorers? Since one of the most common causes of snoring is sleeping on your back, the answer is absolutely yes. If you’re a back sleeper, you may simply need to find the type of mattress that is specially designed to allow you to get a great night’s sleep while sleeping on your side. One mattress that fits that bill perfectly is a latex or memory foam type mattress. A side sleeper will likely find that the surface of a conventional firm mattress is not cushioned enough for the pressure points of the shoulder, upper arm, elbow, hip, and knee. One of our expert Mattress Warehouse Sleep Specialists will point out that a latex or memory foam mattress will provide cushioned support for those pressure points while cradling the natural contour of the body from head to toe. Ask to try out a plush mattress, designed to give the support of a firm mattress while having an inner layer of one to four inches of convoluted foam just under the mattress top.
If you’re a back sleeper and a snorer, you’ll find a whole new world of comfort sleeping on your side on a latex or memory foam mattress. You may also find that your spouse begins to wake up every morning with a smile, well rested after a quiet and serene night’s sleep. We are Oregon’s leading mattress provider with eleven Mattress Warehouse stores located throughout the state in Portland, Canby, Salem, Clackamas, Wilsonville, Beaverton, and Gresham. Stop by one of our stores today and ask one of our Sleep Specialists to show you how you can begin to enjoy sleeping again.For something so simple (even babies do it), sleep isn’t such an easy thing. Both too little and too much time dozing has been linked to a host of health problems, from obesity and heart disease to dementia and diabetes. And sleep position can play a role in snoring, heartburn, and even wrinkles! Read on to see if you should switch it up in bed (remember, we’re talking sleep here). Pros: Snoozing in savasana pose is a boon for spine and neck health, because the back is straight and not forced into any contortions.
Plus back sleeping helps the mattress do its job of supporting the spine. In a perfect (and kind of uncomfy) world, everyone would sleep on their backs without a pillow, as this position leaves the neck in a neutral position. Using too many pillows, however, can make breathing more difficult.Back sleeping is also a winner for the more cosmetically inclined. Spending all night with the face out in the air—and not smooshed up against a pillow—leads to fewer facial wrinkles ((The influence of the sleeping on the formation of facial wrinkles. Cons: Instances of snoring and sleep apnea are much more frequent when a person is sleeping in the supine position. In fact, back sleeping is so closely linked to sleep apnea that doctors prescribe side sleeping as a treatment for the condition. When we sleep on our backs, gravity forces the base of the tongue to collapse into the airway, which obstructs breathing and creates oh-so-pleasant snoring noises that keeps the neighbors up at night.It’s also worth noting that a supported spine doesn’t always necessarily mean a good night’s sleep.
A study comparing the sleep habits of good sleepers and poor sleepers noted the people with worse-quality sleep spent more time on their backs than the good sleepers (Sleep positions in the young adult and their relationship with the subjective quality of sleep. Pros: Side sleepers, unite! Whether they’re curling up in the cozy fetal position or lying straight on one side, the vast majority of people report sleeping on their sides (although since everyone is unconscious during sleep, this information can never be entirely accurate).Doctors encourage sleeping on the left side during pregnancy because it improves circulation to the heart, which benefits both mom and baby. Side sleeping is also a pregnancy winner because sleeping on the back puts pressure on the lower back (which can lead to fainting) and stomach-sleeping is impossible for obvious reasons ((When it comes to pregnant women sleeping, is left right?. For those not expecting, sleeping on the left side can also ease heartburn and acid reflux, making it easier for people with these conditions to doze off.
Cons: At the same time, sleeping on the left side can put pressure on the stomach and lungs (alternating sides often can help prevent organ strain). And as almost all side-sleepers know well, this position can result in the dreaded squished-arm-numbness. Snuggling into bed with the arm behind the head is a common sleep position, but it may adversely affect muscles and nerves. Resting the head (or the whole body) on a single arm can restrict blood flow and press down on the nerves, which results in “rubber arm” or painful pins and needles. In this position, the shoulder supports a lot of the body’s weight, which can constrict the neck and shoulder muscles ((Sleep position and shoulder pain. Pros: Stomach sleeping eases snoring and some cases of sleep apnea, but that’s pretty much the only good thing about going belly-down at night.Cons: Resting on the tummy is widely regarded as the worst sleeping position. It flattens the natural curve of the spine, which can lead to lower back pain.