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What Are The Health Risks of Snoring?

There are numerous problems that can both cause and be caused by snoring. In the last few decades, it’s been revealed that snoring is really quite a risky business. Here’s why.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder with a mixed bag of possible causes. While it can bring about loud snoring, this is not the best indicator of OSA. Rather, restless sleep with intermittent snoring and breathing punctuated by pauses and gasps (all of which the sufferer is typically unaware) is the surest suggestion of the disorder. Since breathing is regularly interrupted, sufferers are in fact ‘missing’ breaths, and are thus deprived of oxygen, the element most critical to the function and survival of bodily tissues.

The health risks of sleep apnea are various, and the disorder can have a severe effect on the overall health and lifestyle of the individual. Sufferers of chronic OSA usually become habituated to the daytime fatigue (known as hypersomnolence), morning headaches, memory problems and learning difficulties it brings about. Sexual dysfunction due to impaired circulation is another possible side effect.

Higher incidences of stroke, diabetes, arrhythmia, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease have all been linked to disorderly breathing during sleep, such as that described above. Interestingly enough, researchers have also discovered that OSA sufferers are at an increased risk of losing mamillary tissue in regions of the brain where memory is stored. Sufferers often differ from healthy individuals by as much as 20% – providing substance to the common link between OSA and memory loss, as well as the increased risk of OSA sufferers having accidents (usually due to impaired concentration).

Mental health can also be quite severely affected. People afflicted by OSA and other forms of sleep disordered breathing are known to be at higher risk of experiencing daily mood swings, irritability and depression. One study found that, upon receiving effective treatment for snoring, many former sufferers experienced a great improvement in their relationship with their spouse, whose own sleeping patterns and mood had been affected by their disorder.

There have been recent studies also linking high volume snoring to an increased risk of atherosclerosis in the carotid artery, which in turn leaves those afflicted at much higher risk of suffering from stroke. The reason for this is the vibration that causes snoring. This vibration can increase the turbulence of the blood flowing through the neighboring carotid artery, irritating and possibly damaging blood cells, encouraging them to form plaques or deposits on the arterial walls. These in turn can grow into life-threatening occlusions to blood flow.

Sleep centers offer overnight sleep studies to determine whether your snoring problem poses a potential threat to your health. Speak to a board certified sleep therapist to see if you’re a candidate for such diagnosis.