Snoring is a breathing related sleep disorder that can cause social problems for spouse and family. It affects 90 million American adults and almost half of them on a daily basis. Most likely to snore are overweight men but it is not limited to weight and gender.
When people are awake there is a certain muscle tone throughout the body. People do not snore while they are awake. When sleeping occurs, the brain tells the muscles in the body to relax. Snoring starts when the muscles of your throat relax. Your tongue falls backward and the throat becomes narrowed. As you breathe in, the walls of the throat begin to vibrate. These vibrations lead to the snoring sounds. The narrower your airway, the faster the air must travel and the greater the vibrations. The greater the vibrations, the louder the snoring.
Some snoring facts: Obesity gathers more fatty tissue within the neck constricting the airway. Aging has a way of creating changes in our bodies including relaxation of throat muscles. Enlarged tongue, tonsils or adenoids, nasal polyps, deviated nasal septum, or inflammation from a respiratory infection can all narrow the throat and airway. Sleeping on your back may lead to snoring in some people. Drinking alcohol close to bedtime; while it may help you fall asleep, the depressive qualities of alcohol relax the muscles more than normal and greater and LOUDER snoring occurs.
While snoring may be a good indicator of sleep apnea, the two are not the same. When the airway gets narrowed and obstructed the structures in the throat vibrate then obstruct. Snoring can get so loud as to arouse one from sleep then breathing stops. This may be a sign of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Most people who suffer from snoring and sleep apnea are unaware of the severity of their situation. Our office has a monitor that you can use at home to screen your sleep for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. However, the diagnosis of Sleep Apnea is made by a sleep specialist (M.D.) who may perform a sleep study (polysomnogram).
Over the counter (internet) snoring devices help some…if you get lucky…but custom fitted appliances are very successful.
Please feel free to visit our web site or contact the office for more information or if we can help in any way.
215-735-8844
Carl Steinberg DDS, MAGD
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