We have all seen the cartoons of someone sleeping with a string of Zs emerging from their mouth as they snore the afternoon away. It is meant to be humorous but this humour can cover up an underlying, potentially life threatening health condition.
Snoring has the potential to cause damage to the person who does the snoring and to their partners. The effects of a persistent lack of a good, undisturbed night’s sleep should not be underestimated.
Whilst an article on snoring will examine possible treatments and cures as well as the underlying health conditions of which snoring is a symptom, some time needs to be spent considering the effect that snoring has on partners and other family members. It is hard to find the words to describe the anguish and desperation felt by those who have to sleep with someone who snores. Snoring can be the cause of many problems within relationships; difficult relationships often lead to increased alcohol consumption; alcohol consumption makes snoring worse. And so the cycle continues.
Even if someone who snores does not take the condition seriously for themselves, actions and treatments should be considered that may well improve the lives of those nearest and dearest to them.
Sleeping with someone who snores can be an interesting experience. The noise emitted has been likened to working lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, chainsaws, motorcycles and even jet engines. Could you get a good night’s sleep if you were required to share your bed with one of those devices continually running?
Because of the stress snoring can place on a relationship most people are embarrassed by their condition and desperate to find a solution. Many unscrupulous suppliers play up to this desperation offering a whole range of substances, gadgets and gizmos all promising to stop snoring but which have very variable success rates. Some of the solutions offered are simply wacky – others are downright dangerous.
There is a school of thought that is anti surgery as a treatment for snoring believing surgery to be counterproductive and also the cause of other health problems.
There is so much that individuals can do to help themselves to stop snoring, or at the very least to reduce the volume and frequency of the snores. These self help techniques have to be worth exploring before committing to more radical treatment.
Many of the self help for snoring techniques have the added bonus of improving general health conditions and so provide an added bonus to those who are prepared to make the changes in diet and lifestyle required.
Snoring is not funny – it can be a debilitating condition and it needs to be treated rather than tolerated or ignored. Whilst snoring in itself is not an illness, it is a symptom of many other health conditions – some minor and some more serious – and it should be checked out. A lot of the fun made of those who snore is made by the snorers themselves and the humour is generated to cover up embarrassment.
By taking snoring seriously you can improve your health and your relationships – get it checked out.
