Snoring

Snoring

10 Tip for a Silent Night

There are different levels of snoring. "If your wife moves out of the bedroom, then you snore at a moderate level," says Philip Westbrook, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, Minnesota. "But if your neighbors move, then you're a heavy snorer."

Men are much more likely to snore than women. In a study of more than 2,000 people in Toronto, sleep researchers Earl V. Dunn, M.D., and Peter Norton, M.D., found that 71 percent of men snored, while only 51 percent of women did. In an Italian study the difference was almost two to one in favor of men—or should we say, not in favor of women.

Clinically, says Dr. Westbrook, moderate snorers are those "who snore every night but perhaps only when on their backs or only part of the night."

Snoring may not be music to your ears, but the sound is orchestrated by a wind ensemble located in the back of the throat. "The tissue in the upper airway in the back of the throat relaxes during sleep," says Philip Smith, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins University Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, Maryland. "When you breathe in, it causes this tissue to vibrate, and that effect is very similar to a wind instrument."

For those of you with sleeping mates who are talking not about separate beds but separate bedrooms, there are ways to help stop the music.

Go on a diet. Most snorers tend to be middle-aged, overweight men. Most women snorers are past menopause. Slimming stops snoring. "Snoring is frequently related to being overweight," says Dr. Dunn of the University of Toronto Sunnybrook Medical Centre Sleep Laboratory. "We've found that if a moderate snorer loses weight, the snoring becomes less loud, and in some people it actually disappears."

"You don't have to be a 2-ton Tony to develop snoring. Just being a little overweight can bring on a problem," says Dr. Smith. "Men about 20 percent over ideal body weight can develop snoring. Women have to be much heavier, usually 30 to 40 percent over ideal body weight. But the more overweight you are, the more likely it is that your airway will collapse."

Ignore the midnight spirits. "Alcohol before bed makes snoring worse," says Dr. Dunn. Don't drink and sleep.

Stay away from sedatives. Sleeping pills may make you sleep, but they will keep your partner awake. "Anything that relaxes the tissues around the head and neck will tend to make snoring worse. Even antihistamines will do it," says Dr. Dunn.

MEDICAL ALERT

The Louder the Snore, The Bigger the Problem

"Thou dost snore distinctly. There's meaning in thy snores."

Modern science is now proving what Shakespeare knew more than 100 years ago when he wrote those lines in The Tempest. "In general," says Philip Smith, M.D., "the louder your snore, the more likely it is to lead to a medical problem."

One of the worst problems associated with snoring is a condition called sleep apnea. "The person literally stops breathing," explains Earl V. Dunn, M.D. "People who are heavy snorers who stop snoring at night, can have episodes where they are not breathing."

Those most prone to sleep apnea are "overweight, middle-aged men," adds Dr. Smith. "If you fall into that category, and you snore pretty loudly—that is, loud enough to be heard outside the room—the chances of your having sleep apnea are pretty high. Go see your doctor."

Sleep apnea can be controlled by wearing a device at night that forces air under pressure into the nose and the back of the throat, which keeps the airway from collapsing. Surgery is sometimes required for severe cases.

If you are a heavy snorer and/or suspect you may have sleep apnea, you might find relief by going to a local sleep clinic. For the address of a sleep clinic near you, write to the American Sleep Disorders Association, 604 Second Street SW, Rochester, MN 55902.

Put the cigarette light out. Snuff snoring by snuffing cigarettes. "Smokers tend to be snorers," says Dr. Dunn, "So stop smoking."

Back off. When you sleep, sleep on your side. "Heavy snorers snore in virtually any position," says Dr. Dunn. "But moderate snorers only snore when they are on their backs."

Get on the ball. A tennis ball, that is. "Sew a tennis ball onto the back of your pajamas," suggests Dr. Dunn. "That way, when you roll over on your back, you hit this hard object and unconsciously you roll off your back."

The Search Goes on for a Sure Cure

"There ain't no way to find out why a snorer can't hear himself snore," wrote Mark Twain in Tom Sawyer Abroad. But there are several hundred ways designed to get that snorer to stop. Since 1874, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued more than 300 patents for so-called antisnoring devices.

Take patent number 4644330, for instance. It's a self-contained electronic device that's worn in the outer ear. It comprises a miniature microphone for detecting snoring sounds and the means for generating an aversive audio signal. What that means is that when you snore, an alarm blasts off in your ear, waking you up. (Its basis is the theory that people who are awake seldom snore.)

Then there's patent number 4669459. This device clamps onto one molar on each side of your mouth with a connecting button that "applies pressure to the soft palate to prevent vibration thereof." Or number 4748702, which is a two-channel "antisnoring pillow." The inventor has placed "a relatively hard object" in the channel that holds the back of your head, and an object that is "not being relatively uncomfortable" in the area where the side of your face would go. Seems you get your choice. If you sleep on your back, you sleep on a rock; if you sleep on your side, it's something a bit softer. You choose.

While sleep experts say that some of the inventions may be based on sound snoring advice, they add that many of the inventions are untested and unproven. "There is very little scientific evidence supporting them," says Philip Westbrook, M.D.

Have a fight with your pillow. Then get rid of it. Pillows only help elevate your snoring level. "Anything that puts a kink in your neck," reports Dr. Dunn, "like a large pillow, will make you snore more."

Consider Yourself Lucky!

Pity Mrs. Switzer. It seems her husband, Melvin, a 250-pound British dockworker, is the sovereign of snore.

Melvin trumpeted his way into the Guinness Book of World Records with a snore registered at 88 decibels, about the same intensity as a motorcycle engine being revved at full throttle.

And Mrs. Switzer? She's now forced to sleep with her good ear to the pillow. Her good ear? Unfortunately, the nightly motorcycle race on the other side of the bed caused her to go deaf in one ear.

So, in the middle of the night when you're jolted awake by a nasal blast, remember poor Mrs. Switzer—and be glad your hubby is not a Harley.

Raise your bed to new heights. Elevating the bed can help minimize snoring. "Elevate the upper torso, not just the head," says Dr. Westbrook. "Put a couple of bricks under the legs at the head of your bed."

Blame it on your allergies. Sneezing and snoring go together. "Snoring can develop due to allergies or colds," says Dr. Westbrook. "Use a nasal decongestant, especially if your snoring is intermittent and comes during hay fever season."

Put a plug in it. When all else fails, Dr. Westbrook says, the one on the receiving end of the nasal abuse can wear earplugs to bed. They're inexpensive and can be purchased at any pharmacy.

PANEL OF ADVISERS

Earl V. Dunn, M.D., is a professor of family medicine and a researcher at the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Medical Centre Sleep Laboratory.

Philip Smith, M.D., is director of the Johns Hopkins University Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Philip Westbrook, M.D., is director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, Minnesota, and associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He is also president of the American Sleep Disorders Association.

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