The End of Snoring
Snoring related disruptive-sleeping steals sleep from 90 million victims every night. It can lead to stress, anxiety, exhaustion and hostility. Snoring exacerbates risks associated with high blood pressure, obesity and even lowered resistance to infection. It can trigger breathlessness during sleep. And it is destructive to personal relationships, memory and career success.
Almost everyone snores at one time or another, regardless of age. Like wearing glasses, as we age most of us will eventually succumb to some nighttime snoring problems...and snoring is a common worldwide problem. A National Family Opinion poll conducted in July, 1994, revealed that 90 million Americans over the age of 18 snore and 37 million are considered habitual snorers. The likelihood of developing a snoring condition also increases with age. Approximately 30% of American males snore at age 30; about 40% of all Americans (both men and women) snore by age 50. There are approximately 58 million Americans over 50 who suffer from snoring.
Snoring is a breathing noise made while someone is sleeping. It usually occurs when a person is inhaling as opposed to exhaling, the source being the vibration of the tissues in the throat. The noise is typically produced by the soft palate, vibrating against the back of the throat or the base of the tongue. This vibration is a rapid alternating opening and closing of the air passage which makes it more difficult to inhale. This noise is a clear indication that there is a blockage in the breathing passage, albeit intermittent.
Snoring represents abnormal breathing during sleep. Most people have sufficient space in their throat to allow air to flow easily without producing noise. When this space is reduced, the tissues of the throat, which are soft and collapsible, may come into contact with each other and vibrate as air is drawn between them. That vibration is what is commonly called snoring. When the mouth is opened, which might occur when sleeping on the back, the base of the tongue is positioned further back in the throat, pressing the uvula against the back of the throat. When air passes between these tissues, a vibration is caused between the uvula and the soft palate and snoring occurs. The potential for the narrowing of the airway and the subsequent snoring is greatest during sleep because the throat muscles, tissues and tongue are relaxed, causing the air passageway to narrow.
When most people are awake and upright, they tend to breathe through their noses, but breathing through the mouth is often necessary to draw in more air. This is especially true during periods of great exertion. During sleep, however, breathing through the nose is considered normal. Most snoring takes place when a person breathes through the mouth. To fully appreciate why this occurs, you must first understand how the nasal passages function.
The nose is divided into two chambers (nostrils) by a cartilage plate called the nasal septum. At the back of each nostril is a narrow space called the nasal valve. Each of these openings is only 1/10th of an inch wide, and every opening is surrounded by blood vessels which can swell and close the breathing space. Millions of people have structural problems that range from deviated septums to broken noses. The common cold and even pregnancy can cause the blood vessels to swell and block the breathing passage. When the breathing passage shrinks, we are then forced to breathe through our mouths. The nasal valve, the small slit-shaped space at the back of each nostril, is where all the air must pass on its way to fill the lungs. This space can easily become blocked.
Normally, we breathe through only one side at a time, cycling this breathing every few hours. When a deviated septum or any blockage is involved, it disrupts the airflow during that cycle. This is especially true when lying down, since water tends to gravitate to the blood vessels in the nose surrounding the opening at the back of the nasal passage, closing it off. Any condition that forces breathing through the mouth increases the chance for snoring to occur.
q Any condition that forces breathing through the mouth will force the base of the tongue towards the back of the throat, narrowing the air space and causing vibrations and snoring.
q If the snorer is still capable of breathing through the nose during periods of blockage, the air will be passing through with more force. This effort also causes vibrations to occur, and this, of course, can cause snoring.
q Obesity, causing additional fatty deposits in the throat narrowing the air passage.
q An enlarged tongue and uvula reduce the airway.
q A receding chin, due to a poorly positioned jaw, can cause a reduction in airway size.
q Enlarged tonsils or adenoids in children can have the same reducing effect as in adults and thus cause snoring in children.
q Some drugs can increase snoring by increasing the muscular relaxation in the throat, particularly alcohol, tranquilizers, and antihistamines. Many other drugs can cause nasal congestion including certain medications used to treat high blood pressure and prostate disease, as well as the chronic use of some nasal sprays and a variety of irritants, including cigarette smoke.
q Sleeping on the back causes snoring in that it keeps you from benefiting from a normal sleep reflex. Sleeping on the side causes a natural reflex to decongest the nostril on the opposite side, allowing easier breathing through the nasal passage. Sleeping on the back disturbs this normal reflex.
There are some people that suffer from a complete collapse or an obstruction in the airway, and consequently the supply of the air to the lungs is totally blocked off. When this occurs, it is called Sleep Apnea. An apnea is defined as an absence of air flow for about 10 seconds or more. A person with a typical case of sleep apnea has a blockage of breathing of from 10-60 seconds at a frequency of 5 times per hour.
Despite the lack of oxygen, the person will still try to bring in air to the lungs, forcing a complete collapse of the tissues of the throat and causing a gasping or snoring-type noise. During this process, the person will have a dangerous drop in blood oxygen levels and an increase in blood pressure at the same time. This situation can become potentially dangerous. A physician should be called for corrective procedures.
Under normal circumstances, the apnea is terminated by an arousal, and for the most part is so brief it is hardly remembered. The arousal increases the tone of the muscles in the throat and tongue, thereby releasing the airway blockage and creating a loud grunt or snore. This is usually followed by a period of rapid breathing and again a new apnea occurs.
A sufferer of sleep apnea could have several hundred occurrences of apnea during the sleeping hours. Restless sleeping, snoring, grunting, tossing and turning, and scaring ones partner are only a partial list of the problems that are faced by apnea sufferers.
Uncontrollable sleepiness, memory lapses and the inability to concentrate are some of the many problems symptomatic of apnea sufferers. There is medical help available and often a family doctor will send a sufferer to a sleep center for diagnosis. Under all circumstances where apnea is diagnosed, a medical cure should be sought to prevent excessive high blood pressure and possible heart attack.
There are thousands of solutions put forth by all sorts of people and theoreticians to ease snoring. Few solutions work on a full time basis, and most don't work at all. It is important to first diagnose the cause or the underlying reason for snoring. It could simply be caused by a nasal blockage due to a cold, and in that eliminating the congestion would be a simple cure. Just changing one's sleeping position may or may not help, as snoring might be the result of a combination of causes. Whatever the case, it is significantly important to diagnose the cause.
q Lose weight
q Improve nasal breathing
q Sleep on your side
q Avoid alcohol
q Stop smoking
q Talk to your doctor
q Consider a dental appliance
q Take Silent Nitezzz from scalarcore.com
Silent Nitezzz has a patented liposome process that delivers a spray mist of pure vegetable oil directly to the back of the throat, lubricating the uvula (soft palate) that ordinarily vibrates with each breath. This lubricating oil is virtually 100% effective in stopping all the noise associated with snoring. In addition, Silent Nitezzz is enriched with Vitamins B6, C and E. And finally, Silent Nitezzz is flavored with an all natural peppermint taste that further provides the satisfaction of waking up without morning breath.
Silent Nitezzz Throat Spray is free of artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.