According to international statistics, every fifththe man snores in his sleep. And not quietly and sweetly snoring, but making such a loud and whistling sound that resembles the work of a jackhammer or a drill. Fortunately, women are less susceptible to this unpleasant disease. Why such a difference? Scientists still cannot determine. But they warn that if you or your other half began to snore, you need to urgently get treatment. Otherwise, with age, the problem will only worsen.
How snoring occurs
So, first of all, we need to figure out whatsnoring is. This is a human breathing disorder, accompanied by certain sound phenomena. During sleep, your body completely relaxes, including the soft palate and uvula. As a result, the air passing through the soft tissues of the nasopharynx begins to vibrate strongly. And the older the person, the louder the noises produced. Also, the sound level is affected by body weight. The more a person weighs, the louder the snoring. In the latter case, it will be enough to lose weight to get rid of this problem. Sometimes the curvature or reduction of the gap through which air passes occurs due to the wrong position of the body. Sometimes snoring occurs when people sleep on their backs. In this case, the tongue and lower jaw, sagging down, do not allow the flow to exit the nasal cavity. A person has to breathe through the mouth so as not to suffocate.
Pathology of breathing
In the initial stages, snoring is certainly notcauses particular discomfort, since a person does not hear it in a dream. Unless the noise prevents the other half from getting a good night's sleep. But over time, the sleeping person will begin to feel discomfort, will have shortness of breath, dry mouth. Therefore, it is so important to take this problem seriously. Do not delay until the moment when the symptoms intensify or you feel bad. Remember once and for all: the later you start treatment, the more time and money you will have to spend on it. Sleep apnea and dyspnea are the most common breathing pathologies, because of which people constantly go to the clinic. Please note - snoring also accompanies various diseases.
Apnea
During sleep, a person begins to delayair for about ten seconds. In advanced cases, pulmonary ventilation stops for a longer period of time - twenty to thirty seconds. After this, the person starts snoring loudly. If a girl stays in this state all night, then in the morning she will have a headache and drowsiness. At the same time, your memory suffers greatly, your performance deteriorates, and your intelligence decreases. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) Occurs as a result of narrowing of the upper respiratory tract. As a result, oxygen starvation begins, CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the blood increases and acidity increases. When the body's condition reaches a certain point, a person either wakes up or goes into a superficial stage of sleep. After breathing is completely normalized, a person can continue to sleep. If you measure a person's blood pressure during this period of time, you can notice a significant increase. This is fraught with sad consequences for those who have problems with the heart and blood vessels. Also, people with obstructive sleep apnea are at risk of getting a heart attack, stroke, etc. Symptoms of obstructive apnea Most often, patients complain of poor, restless and intermittent sleep, fatigue, aggression. During the whole day, girls cannot concentrate on their work. People suffering from this type of apnea can even fall asleep while driving. Women experience decreased libido, and men experience decreased potency. Causes of obstructive apnea
- Age
Unfortunately, among older peoplegenerations, this disease is more common. This occurs due to the loss of elasticity of the muscles and the wall of the nasopharynx. Involuntarily relaxing during sleep, they block the air supply more than usual.
- Floor
As mentioned above, snoring is most oftenoccurs in the stronger sex. Women usually face this problem after they begin menopause. Some experts associate this with an increase in male hormones in the blood.
- Obesity
The fat layer also has a very strong influence onnarrowing of the airways. And the fatter the person, the longer and more frequent the apnea will be. In some cases, breathing may even stop. Therefore, if a person who snores in his sleep has serious weight problems, it is necessary to lose weight urgently.
- Alcohol
People who constantly drink alcohol andalcoholic drinks are also a risk factor. By the way, among alcohol lovers, the rate of apnea is much higher. Respiratory failure also occurs if a person prefers to drink rarely, but accurately.
- Deformities and diseases
Fractures, tumors, injuries, congenital defects,deformation of the nasopharynx, inflammatory processes and similar problems can also lead to the development of apnea. In this case, snoring during sleep indicates that something is wrong with your body. Therefore, be sure to consult a specialist. Especially if after waking up you feel pain in the throat, heart or lungs. It is better to fight obstructive apnea only in specialized clinics. After diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a certain course of treatment to eliminate the cause of the disease. In especially difficult cases, it is fought with the help of unique equipment. The device regulates and evens out a person's breathing, providing the lungs with oxygen. Unfortunately, this procedure is quite expensive and not everyone can afford it. Central apnea Most often occurs during the period when a person falls asleep, as well as during REM sleep. In completely healthy and thin individuals, it manifests itself very rarely, while no disturbances in the body occur. As in the previous case, those who are constantly ill experience shortness of breath, constant drowsiness, night awakenings and similar disturbances. You can be sure that it is central apnea and not obstructive after a full examination.
Dispnoe
During sleep, patients experience disturbances in their rhythm andthe depth of breathing, the pulse quickens, and loud snoring appears. With laryngeal dyspnea, air vibrations occur only during inhalation. With tracheal dyspnea, both during inhalation and exhalation. Usually, such disorders occur as a result of lung disease (pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma), when smoking, or if you have a nasal pathology.
How to get rid of snoring
Actually get rid of this diseasequite difficult. If the problem is related to the palate or uvula, specialized clinics may offer you several treatment options. The most gentle are surgeries using special devices (laser, coagulator, cryodestructor). Naturally, everything is done under local anesthesia. In regular hospitals, where there is no special equipment, the problem is eliminated with a scalpel. However, even after the most expensive treatment, snoring can return to you again. And you will again feel all the delights of this disease in your sleep. The cause of a relapse can be the reappearance of neoplasms in the nose, polyps, problems with the nasopharynx, excess weight, etc. In this case, you will have to undergo surgery again. If regular surgery does not help eliminate snoring, you can undergo uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. With the help of special equipment, excess soft tissues are removed, which relax during sleep and interfere with normal breathing. Sometimes it is also necessary to correct the jaw (upper or lower). Fighting snoring at home
- Massage with fingers
Are you bothered by the constant snoring that you hear?even in your sleep? Try doing a special massage for several days in a row. You should start the procedure on an empty stomach, as some people may experience a gag reflex. Don't forget to wash your hands with soap beforehand. So, open your mouth as wide as possible, then start massaging the area behind and in front of the tongue with your index finger (two to three minutes, no more). The movements should be gentle and smooth, barely noticeable. Be careful not to scratch the soft palate with your fingernail. The course lasts fifteen days on average, after which you take a short break. This will strengthen the muscles of the soft palate, which relax during sleep, causing snoring. If you cannot perform the massage yourself, ask your loved ones for help. The exception is when a gag reflex occurs even when touched. In this case, only a doctor can help.
- Folk recipes
Drink every morning for a month.a glass of cabbage juice with honey. Before meals (about an hour and a half before), eat one carrot baked in the oven, and at night, put sea buckthorn oil in your nose. Don't forget to check in advance if you are allergic to some of the ingredients.
- Gymnastics
It is believed that if you perform it dailya certain set of exercises, snoring will never bother you. Well, it's worth checking. First, learn to breathe correctly: rhythmically and deeply. Straighten your shoulders, lift your chin, close your eyes and take a deep breath. You should feel how your lungs are filled with oxygen. Now exhale slowly. When going to work, you can also do some useful exercises. For example, start controlling yourself. So, take a step, a second, a third and inhale at the same time. Fourth, fifth, sixth - exhale. At first, this will be difficult to do, especially if you are a heavy smoker who has never played sports.
- Working with speech
To overcome the hated snoring, throughoutRepeat various tongue twisters thirty to forty times a day. You can also sing, reproduce a drawn-out "eee". The main thing is that the tongue and throat muscles participate in the process. One month is enough to cope with this problem. What a snoring person can and cannot do Often, people themselves are to blame for the fact that they snore in their sleep. There are a number of rules and restrictions that those who have such problems must adhere to. And if you start doing at least half of them, then perhaps your other half will no longer complain about you. So, remember once and for all - drinking alcohol, eating, smoking four to five hours before bedtime is absolutely forbidden. Important! If you have cats or dogs in the house, kick them out of the room at night. Ventilate the room about thirty minutes before you go to bed. It's great if you can use a humidifier. Do not sleep on a soft or low feather pillow, a sagging or old mattress. Give preference to orthopedic bedding. Thanks to special materials, your head will not press into the surface. This is also good for the spine. It is not advisable to sleep on your back. Try to fall asleep on your left side. Ask your other half to turn you over every time they hear you snore. By the way, in no case should you close the mouth of a sick person, as the person can simply suffocate. You can also use special devices. They are either custom-made or sold in a pharmacy. This can be a thin semicircular plate, reminiscent of the insert that boxers use to protect their teeth. Its main task is to support the jaw so that it remains extended forward all the time. Thanks to this, the airways will not close. The only downside is the rather high price. In addition, such a device helps only in cases where snoring is not accompanied by other disorders in the body. If, for example, the nose is broken, a runny nose has appeared or the tonsils are inflamed, you need to see a doctor. Danger, children's snoring! Unfortunately, not everyone considers snoring a serious disease. Everyone often makes fun of a person because of whom even the neighbors do not sleep. And the culprit himself treats it in the same way as a slight runny nose - it will go away on its own if you do not pay attention. Such negligence is fraught with serious consequences! But it is even worse when children snore. Scientists have conducted research, based on which they made quite interesting conclusions. Babies who snore during sleep are more prone to hyperactivity than children who sleep peacefully. The problem is that due to difficult and intermittent breathing, the brain begins to suffer from oxygen starvation. As a result - developmental delay. By the way, there are often cases when newborns suffocate and die in their sleep. Therefore, if you have discovered this disease in your child, immediately contact a pediatrician and ENT specialist.
