Is Snoring Disrupting Your Silent Nights?

What to do when snoring is disrupting your silent nights

Snoring – it’s the night-time behaviour no-one likes to admit they do even though it really isn’t that unusual.

“Nearly everyone snores occasionally,” says sleep expert Dr Carmel Harrington, “and the older we get the more we snore.”

This is especially true for women, who are more likely to start snoring after menopause, when lower levels of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone reduce your ability to breathe during sleep. You may not even know you do it.

“While some women snore like troopers, others go undiagnosed because they snore so quietly,” Carmel says.

But even the sweetest of snores can disrupt your sleep. And a regular lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, heart disease and metabolic disease.

“Snoring truly is a sleep disorder because we’re meant to have enough sleep to wake up feeling energised.”

And yes, your sleep can be equally “disordered” when it’s your partner’s snoring that keeps you from getting the rest you need. Either way, here’s what you need to know about snoring and when to seek help for the sake of your health.

UNDERSTANDING SNORING

“Whether or not you snore comes down to a combination of things including the muscle tone and structure of your upper airways,” Carmel says.

As your body relaxes during sleep, so too do the muscles in the roof of your mouth, tongue and throat, which form your upper airways (also called the upper respiratory tract).