If you happen to be married to a man whose snores, then it is likely that neither of you is getting much sleep. He will be waking up several times a night without realising it, due to the fact that his airways aren’t clear, so basically he’s falling asleep, starting to snore, waking up with a jump, then falling asleep again. The whole process means that his brain never gets the chance to drift into the deep sleep state that is known as REM sleep, which is where the body heals and repairs itself and the mind becomes rested and rejuvenated.
The consequence of this snoring process is that he wakes cross and grumpy the following day, does not perform well at work and is an absolute nightmare to live with because, being a man, it can’t possibly be his fault! So you both need to sit down and discuss how to prevent snoring, before you are tempted to hit him over the head with the nearest heavy object in desperation.
There is a large market of remedies available to prevent snoring without resorting to medication. There are sprays and gels to coat the mouth and the back of the throat to keep the tissues there moist during sleep, and are also such things as a jaw supporter that fits over the top of the head and under the chin and keeps the jaw in place while you sleep. This may not sound a likely remedy to help stop your snoring, but if the tongue base does not drop back into the throat during sleep, then there will be no reason for the snoring.
Special snoring pillows are also easily available that claim to be very useful in keeping the head in line with the spine, and therefore keeping the airways clear. These can be very effective and are comfortable and unobtrusive and he won’t look like a muzzled Rottweiler!
It is well worth trying some of these remedies to prevent snoring (all of which are readily available and don’t need a prescription from a doctor) before embarking on more radical cures, such as surgery to change the shape of the nostrils or cut away the loose flesh in the mouth and throat that is causing the problem. Surgery is painful and it takes several weeks post-operatively to determine whether it has been successful or not, and it comes with no guarantee of success! It is also the most expensive option to choose to prevent snoring, as insurance companies will not fund it in the US, and the surgery would have to be necessary to the patient’s health for the NHS in the UK to pay for it.
Comments on this entry are closed.