Snoring And Alcohol

Although there are many snorers in the world, few know exactly why they are snoring, and how they can find a snoring remedy. Alcohol is one of the most common causes of snoring.

How Alcohol Results In Snoring

Alcohol, a depressant, travels through all areas of the body and slows your brain’s response mechanism. Additionally, alcohol relaxes the muscles of the body more so than normal sleeping does.

Your orophanyx (the back of your throat) begins to collapse more rapidly then when sober since your muscles are more relaxed while under the influence due to alcohol consumption. This can be one of the root causes of snoring.

A more grave threat than simply sawing logs, however, is the possibility that alcohol can cause regular snorers to induce a temporary case of sleep apnea – temporary stoppage of breathing while asleep.

This is not the same as being clinically diagnosed with sleep apnea, as it occurs only when a “primary” snorer drinks alcohol before bed. That does not mean that it is not an issue that requires addressing, however.

Alcohol Causes Sleep Apnea

You may be a victim to alcohol-induced sleep apnea, if you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night after a night of drinking with a shortness of breath, or feel extremely sluggish and tired during the daytime after a night of drinking.

The condition will only worsen, and sleep apnea is a tough problem to treat if you don’t modify your lifestyle.

Alcohol Causes Irritation In Nasal Airways

In addition to the above effects of alcohol on sleep, alcohol is known to cause irritation of the nasal airway, as well as congestion that generates airway resistance while you breathe.

One way to lessen the effects of alcohol on your sleeping patterns would be to make sure that you drink your last drink at least 4 hours before you go to bed if for some reason you are unable to stop drinking.

This grace period allows your body a possibility to procedure the alcohol and decrease the effects that it may have on your sleeping, helping you to sleep without snoring.

Sleeping Pills

In addition to alcohol causing problems with sleep disorders, it is also significant to be careful while taking sedatives such as sleeping pills.

They behave much in the same way as alcohol, causing your body to relax its muscles and inducing many of the same symptoms as alcohol.

Spousal Arousal Syndrome

When you snore, you not only affect yourself – studies have shown that bedmates can lose up to an hour of sleep per night and wake up as many as 21 times per hour when sleeping next to a snorer, in a problem known as Spousal Arousal Syndrome.

Anti-Histamines

Anti-histamines have also been known to have negative effects when it comes to sleep disorders such as primary snoring and sleep apnea. If at all possible, you should avoid the consumption of any of these risk-factors before you go to sleep.