What Are the Health Risks of Snoring?

Out of all the sleep disorders that exist, snoring is by far the most common one. This is a disorder that may affect anyone, at any age. Although, it has been proven that men are more likely to snore than women and people who are overweight are also more likely to be snorers. It is amazing to think that about 45% of adults are occasional snorers and 25% of adults are habitual snorers. That is a huge percentage, and it is so high because most people do not think there is any risk associated with snoring. As a result, they will not treat the problem and continue to snore for the rest of their lives. That is a mistake, because snoring may seem harmless but there are health risks associated with it.

Snoring is caused by the obstruction to the flow of air through the mouth and nose. The walls of the throat vibrate and that results in the sound that is associated with snoring. This happens because of obstructed nasal airways, poor muscle tone in the throat, bulky throat tissue, and long soft palates. There are various risks that are associated with snoring. Habitual snorers are the ones who have to worry; occasional snorers are not in danger of any health risks. Those who snore habitually tend to also have or develop obstructive sleep apnea.

This results in long breathing interruptions (often more than ten seconds) that is caused by partial or total obstruction of the airways. If there is a serious case, there could be total blockage episodes many times during the night. People who suffer also end up waking up a lot during the middle of the night; however they sometimes may not even realize they are doing so. They also sleep very lightly because they must keep their throat muscles tense so that they can maintain airflow and continue to breathe safely. Blood oxygen levels are also very low, and that causes the heart to work harder to pump blood into the veins and that result in blood pressure rises and more stress upon the heart as well. All of these symptoms cause one to have a very poor night’s sleep and that leads to drowsiness in the day and a very poor lifestyle indeed. Always being sleepy and never getting the quality of rest that one needs to survive is not healthy in the long term.

Also, prolonged suffering from these symptoms results in even higher blood pressure and can even cause the heart to enlarge. That means there are much higher risks of heart attacks or strokes. Another factor is the adrenaline produced by the body because it is not getting enough oxygen. Adrenaline, in turn, leads to an increase in the amount of sugar in our bodies and can lead to diabetes.

Snoring seems like such a trivial problem. Many who snore simply laugh it off and make jokes about who snores the loudest and the most often. However, if they read this article and saw the risk they were putting themselves in, they would realize that snoring is something that must be prevented as much as possible. Health is such an important concern for most people, who take vitamins, eat healthy foods and avoid exposure to hazardous materials. That is all great but if a matter as simple as snoring is not dealt with, all the rest of that is useless. It is no good being healthy but having a heart attack because of the stress that snoring placed upon your heart. This is a very curable problem, so if you have a habitual snoring problem please see a doctor; you will lead a better and healthier life.

Author Bio: Written by Sean Lee for LearnHowToStop.com, providing information on how to break bad habits, stop unhealthy actions and live a better live. Learn how to stop just about anything and follow this link to learn how to stop snoring.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: snoring, hot to stop snoring, stop snoring, habitual snoring

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