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Did you know that an average of 40% of adult males are habitual snorers? If your husband is one of them, then you’ve come to the right place!
Snoring is a common issue that millions of couples face and struggle with, and to fix it, you need to find the reasons behind it. Ranging from lifestyle choices to medical conditions, there’s a myriad of culprits behind snoring.
Follow us as we go through snoring‘s possible reasons, when you should see a doctor, and tips to help give your husband a better sleep at night!
What Is Snoring?
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Snoring is an unconscious sound you make that’s caused by an airflow blockage while you sleep. It can range from muted to loud and can vary in frequency. While light snores are common across all ages, it’s not normal. It means air isn’t flowing freely through your throat and nose as it should.
Common Causes of Snoring
The primary causes of snoring are lifestyle choices and biological or medical conditions. Both can be hard to spot, especially if your husband isn’t experiencing symptoms other than disruptive snores. Here’s a brief roundup of the two causes and how you can fix them.
Biological and Medical Conditions
Lifestyle is something we can control, but biological and medical causes need a more scientific and guided approach to ensure minimum complications.
The top biological and medical causes of snoring include mouth anatomy, nasal problems, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
For instance, people with a naturally low and thick mouth palate have narrower airways, reducing proper airflow to their noses. Likewise, chronic nasal congestion tends to constrict air passage, contributing to loud snores.
That said, OSA is a more serious cause and can be attributed to a combination of heredity and lifestyle. It comes with its own risk factors, which I’ll discuss in detail below.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Light, infrequent snores don’t often warrant a doctor’s visit, but snoring associated with OSA requires a thorough check for proper medical intervention.
Here are the symptoms that signal a potential OSA condition:
- High blood pressure
- Frequent episodes of sleep restlessness
- Gasping or choking experiences at night
- Morning headaches
- Disruptive snoring loud enough to wake your partner
- Difficulty to focus
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Pause in breathing during sleep
People with OSA report frequent episodes of waking up at night caused by repetitive loud snores and pauses in breathing, which culminate in gasping for air.
Eventually, this sleep pattern affects the quality of their sleep, preventing them from achieving a deep sleep stage, which is necessary for one’s health.
Lifestyle Factors
Lifestyle factors play a crucial role in your and your husband’s sleep health.
Common culprits behind snoring include being overweight, smoking, and drinking alcohol. Being overweight can cause more tissues to form at the back of your throat, leading to a more constricted airway, thus, snoring.
Meanwhile, smoking can irritate the nasal passages, making breathing harder than usual. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles, making them more prone to vibrate and snore.
Making changes to your husband’s diet, quitting smoking, or cutting down on alcohol may help reduce or eliminate snoring.
When to See a Doctor
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As a rule of thumb, you should see a doctor if you suspect your husband has sleep apnea or if the snoring becomes too excessive. Sleep apnea can be serious and lead to several health complications like increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and abnormal cholesterol level.
When left untreated, snoring tied to OSA can lead to psychological issues like depressed moods, brought about by the inability to enjoy quality sleep.
How Is Snoring Diagnosed?
Snore diagnosis begins with a detailed Q&A with your healthcare provider. You and your husband will be asked questions about diet, lifestyle, and general living patterns and conditions.
A series of physical exams will then follow to assess your partner’s blood pressure, heart functions, and mouth, throat, and nose conditions.
Depending on the results, your doctor may order a Polysomnography test, which is a diagnostic exam to assess your sleep patterns. It provides comprehensive data on the following:
- Heart rate and oxygen levels
- Breathing patterns, including the time when you stop breathing while you sleep
- Brain wave activity
- Sleep movements like arm and leg movements
- Sleep cycles
- Eye movements
- Body position
Polysomnography is painless and noninvasive, which makes it a popular procedure for adults. It’s also conducted with the supervision of skilled technologists to ensure the safety and accuracy of implementation.
Tips to Help Your Husband Stop Snoring
Addressing your husband’s disruptive snores is beneficial not only to his well-being but also to yours. Here are some tips you can do at home to help you both have a good night’s sleep.
Avoid Dairy Before Bed
A simple lifestyle change that can significantly improve your husband’s sleep health is avoiding dairy before bed. Dairy products prompt the body to produce more mucus, which builds up at the back of your husband’s throat. This disrupts airflow and causes snoring.
Invest in Anti-Snoring Products
Many anti-snoring products can help with your husband’s snoring, such as a nasal dilator or chin strap. However, before choosing one of them, you should ideally consult a doctor. Some people have medical conditions that these products worsen.
Play Gentle Music
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A soft, white-noise or instrumental background can assist your husband in falling asleep fast. These gentle sounds can put him at ease and lull him to sleep faster. While it doesn’t tackle the root cause of snoring, it allows you both to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere as you doze off.
Plus, a conducive sleeping environment might solve the issue if his snoring doesn’t always happen and isn’t caused by a severe medical condition.
Try a Different Sleeping Position.
Back sleeping is discouraged for anyone who has sleep apnea. Even if your husband doesn’t have OSA, he should still try to sleep on his side instead of on his back, as the latter causes the tongue to fall back due to gravity. The tongue’s new position contributes to a blockage in your husband’s air passage, which causes snoring.
Changing sleep positions doesn’t come easy, especially if you’re used to one style. But there are steps you can take to build the habit of sleeping differently, such as using more pillows to cushion your back, replacing your mattress with a more comfortable one, etc.
Hydrate Before You Sleep.
Some people don’t suggest drinking water at night, as this increases your chance of urinating in the middle of the night, which disrupts your sleep.
However, there’s a benefit to being hydrated at night and keeping a glass of water on your bedside. Snoring is known to intensify when you have a dry throat. A glass of water nearby can help your husband hydrate his throat, softening his air passageway for easier breathing.
Create a Detailed Plan for Reducing Weight.
As we’ve pointed out on the lifestyle causes of snoring, being overweight affects breathing quality. If you’ve seen a consistent increase in your husband’s weight, it’s worth creating a solid plan to prevent him from gaining more.
This is also an excellent chance for you to work together to achieve a common goal. The healthier he gets, the lesser risk factors he’ll develop.
Use Relaxing Essential Oils
Some essential oils have a calming effect and can give you and your husband better sleep at night, like lavender and eucalyptus. While they won’t eliminate snoring, they can help you and your husband fall into deep sleep faster. This way, your husband will be less likely to snore throughout the night, and you might fall asleep before you even hear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Improve My Sleep If My Husband Snores?
One option is to try sleeping in a separate room if it won’t affect your relationship. If you don’t want to do that, you can try using earplugs. They’ll be uncomfortable at first, but you’ll get used to them over time.
Do Males or Females Snore More?
Men who snore are almost twice the number of females who snore, as stated by SnoreLab.
Is Snoring Dangerous?
Snoring increase the risk of many diseases, including heart, brain, and lung problems. This is especially the case if it’s caused by a medical condition like sleep apnea.
Final Thoughts
It’s always inconvenient to sleep in the same room with someone who snores, especially if it’s someone as close as your husband. However, there are ways you can improve both your sleeping habits.
For starters, you should rule out any medical condition by booking an appointment in a sleep clinic. If your husband doesn’t have a genetic or medical condition that prompts snoring, you can apply major lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet, cutting off alcohol, and avoiding smoking.
The content on this website is for informational purposes only. Easysleepguide.com does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment options.