Snoring And Sleep Apnea Differences

Snoring and sleep apnea are two that commonly come to mind when it comes to sleeping disorders.

Few people know the differences between snoring and sleep apnea, and the overwhelming effects on your health they can have.

What one may think is simple, normal snoring, can sometimes be a much more serious situation. Here are some of the properties of the two sleep disorders, and how to differentiate them.

Snoring

Simple snoring, known as primary snoring, is the result of an obstacle of air flow to the passages at the back of the mouth and the back of the throat. Your body in order to oxygen, is trying to force air flow through these passages it crucially needs to perform everyday functions.

Snoring occurs where the tongue and the upper part of the throat meet the uvula and the soft palate, striking each other and vibrating while trying to breathe.

Causes Of Snoring

Suffering from poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat, the use of alcohol, antihistamines, or sleeping pills, excessive throat tissue bulk (often due to obesity), and obstructed nasal cavities are the common causes of snoring.

Effects Of Snoring

While, primary snoring is not as harmful as sleep apnea, but may also has many adverse health effects that need to be taken under consideration if you or someone you love snores.

Struggling violently to breathe whilst snoring can cause Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, or UARS, which is a forerunner to sleep apnea which results in extreme sleepiness, with such dangerous side-effects as falling asleep at the wheel whilst driving an automobile.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a very serious situation. It occurs when a snorer’s issue worsens to the point where their body essentially experiences a lack of oxygen, causing pauses in breathing for at least 10 seconds, with as many as hundreds of pauses per night of sleep.

Effects Of Sleep Apnea

This problem can cause daytime sleepiness, a 7 to 12 fold raise in automobile accidents, irritability, headaches, personality change, restless sleep, and shortness of breath.

If sleep apnea is left untreated for long, it can result in such problems as high blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms, as well as heart failure and death. You can see why snoring can develop into such a serious problem with such issues at hand as these.

It is significant to try your best to remedy the problem before it gets too bad to contain it. For instance, there are a couple of different methods for helping the issue, if you are a snorer who only snores while lying on their back.

Tennis Ball Technique

Putting a tennis ball into a sock and pin it to the back of your pants is one solution to the problem that seems to work in most cases. The uncomfortable tennis ball will force your body into not sleeping on your back.

Another technique engages taking away the number of pillows you sleep on. The more pillows you use, the higher the angle your air passages must bend, giving a chance for further obstacle.

Research the causes of snoring, and try to pinpoint why you might be experiencing the symptoms. You’re halfway to recovery once you’ve got it figured out.