Folklore, jokes and cartoons about snoring testify to widespread frustration with this common sleep disturbance. It is not unusual for the snorer to be unaware of the disruption he causes; after all, he is asleep. Scientists are finding out, however, that not all snoring is benign, and that treatments to open airways and tone throat tissues can improve overall health.
History
In 1861, ethnographer George Catlin compared the sleep habits of native people who slept out of doors with closed mouths, breathing quietly through the nose, to whites living in the overheated buildings of crowded cities. The whites slept open-mouthed and snoring. Actual sleep research began in 1953, when researchers Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinsky described rapid eye movement, or REM sleep. Not until the 1970s was loud snoring linked to obesity and sleep apnea.
Prevalence
According to Professor Peretz Lavie, sleep researcher and author of "Restless Nights," 45 percent of adults snore occasionally and 25 percent admit to snoring every day. More men than women snore. Obese individuals are more likely to snore than people of normal weight. Snoring incidence also increases with age; by age 60, more than half of men and 40 percent of women snore regularly.
Physiology
When air flows over surplus tissues in the area of the soft palate and pharynx, the vibration results in snoring. A greater tendency to snore is correlated with the amount of tissue in the back of the mouth and the narrowness of the airways. Anything that relaxes tissues and decreases smooth muscle tone contributes to snoring, such as obesity, lying on the back or drinking alcohol.
Types
People who snore every night in any position are called chronic snorers. Infrequent snorers are those who only saw logs when they have had a few drinks or are lying on their back. There are a wide range of intermediate types, depending on variables such as frequency and volume. How loud is a snore? According to Lavie, snoring averages between 20 and 80 decibels. A motorcycle at full throttle reaches 80 decibels.
Significance
While light snoring is not associated with any disease, and continuous prolonged snoring may not be a symptom of a disorder, loud snoring is an important symptom of sleep apnea syndrome. This condition is characterized by high blood pressure, morning headaches and chronic daytime sleepiness.
In "Restless Nights," Lavie reports that chronic snorers, be they male, female, fat, thin, young or old, have higher blood pressure than non-snorers. This phenomenon is more pronounced in individuals who are thin and younger than the age of 50. Swedish researchers who studied pregnant women determined that snoring is predictive of pregnancy-induced hypertension and impaired fetal growth. Their findings were published in the January 2000 issue of "Chest."
In the July 2005 issue of "Sleep," neurologists at the University of Michigan reported results of a four-year study aimed at sleep-disordered breathing in children. Snoring was found to be a strong risk factor for the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
