The root cause of snoring
Why we snore.
Snoring is almost always caused by muscular weakness in the neck and throat. The tissue slackens and blocks the airway during sleep.
Sleep-related obstructions of the airways can be detected in three areas of anatomy:
- On the posterior palate, when the soft palate is in contact with the uvula, the dangling tissue relaxes and vibrates when breathing in and out.
- At the base of the tongue, when the tongue falls back into the throat and blocks the airways.
- At the larynx, when the epiglottis – which is a cover for the larynx – closes the entrance to the lungs.
Symptoms
This can result in more serious symptoms such as chronic daytime fatigue, general performance losses and, in the long term, even stroke or heart attack.
Not only does this disturb your partner while you sleep, it can also become a health problem for yourself if snoring causes breathing stops (Apnea).
Snoring is not a harmless thing
Snoring is not a harmless thing and is often underestimated! The sleep of the partner is disturbed by it, and snoring can also be a cause of health problems for the snorer.
Such as chronic daytime tiredness, microsleep, lack of concentration, loss of performance and, in the case of OSA, even myocardial infarction and stroke.
How snoring affects everyday life
The consequences of snoring range from relationship crises up to obstructive sleep apnea, in which breathing stops for seconds. As a result, the upper airways are narrowed and the flow of breath is disturbed.
Danger Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
This causes numerous, unconscious wake up reactions. Sleep becomes massively disturbed and is no longer suf- ficient restful. These breathing interruptions lead to insuffi- cient oxygen supply during sleep phases, with consequen- ces such as exhaustion, chronic fatigue, general loss of power, tendency to microsleep, and attention deficiencies in everyday life.
In the long term, OSA also causes serious damage, such as high blood pressure, increased risk of stroke and other serious illnesses, risk of heart attack, renal failure, diabetes, memory loss, depression and in men also impotence. OSA is a major contributor to obesity in older men.
Obstructive sleep apnea in men in Germany
In Germany, 20% of men under 60 years of age already suffer from OSA, and among men over 60 years of age the figure is a remarkable 60%. The trend is strongly increasing.
October 21, 2019