Do you Snore?

Identifying whether you snore or not and addressing potential causes can significantly impact your sleep quality. Here's a deeper dive into exploring methods, both technical and observational, to determine if you're a snorer and ways to address different types of snoring: 

Observational Techniques:

 

1. Communication with Your Bed Partner: Engaging in a candid conversation with your partner about your sleep habits and potential snoring can offer valuable insights. They're likely aware and can provide essential observations about your snoring patterns. 

2. Recording Your Sleep: Using audio/video recording devices during sleep can be a reliable technique if you're alone. Reviewing the recordings afterward can help assess snoring intensity, patterns, and potential sleep disturbances. 

3. Daytime and Night-time Indicators: Paying attention to daytime indicators like fatigue, headaches, irritability, or mood swings can suggest potential snoring-related sleep disturbances. Night-time signs such as nocturnal urination, waking up gasping with dry mouth and throat or feeling out of breath can also indicate snoring issues. 

Types of Snoring and Remedies:

 

1. Mouth-Based Snoring: Breathing through the mouth while sleeping contributes to this type of snoring. Solutions include mouth guards or adhesive tapes designed to keep the mouth closed, facilitating nasal breathing. 

2. Tongue-Based Snoring: Tongue falling back into the throat during sleep can obstruct breathing. Using a Mandibular Advancement Device helps advance the jaw forward, preventing tongue obstruction. 

3. Nose-Based Snoring: Blocked or congested nostrils lead to this type of snoring. Nasal dilator strips or quitting smoking can help keep the airway open and reduce snoring in such cases. 

4. Throat-Based Snoring: Soft tissue vibrations in the throat cause this type. Weight loss can alleviate the extra tissue pressure, reducing snoring. 

CPAP Treatment:

 

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy involves using a lunch box sized device with a nasal or face mask during sleep. This machine provides a continuous flow of air, preventing airway collapse and reducing snoring or sleep apnea symptoms.

Self-Help Remedies:

 

Diet and Lifestyle Adjustments: Avoiding heavy meals or alcohol consumption or smoking close to bedtime can decrease the likelihood of snoring. Additionally, keeping the head elevated while sleeping, maintaining a dust-free room, and using nasal strips or pillows can aid in reducing snoring. 

By understanding these different types of snoring and their corresponding remedies, you can take proactive steps toward improving sleep quality and addressing potential snoring issues. Whether it's through lifestyle changes, specialised devices, or medical treatments, there are various ways to alleviate snoring and promote better sleep. 


Here you can read more about Snoring like impact of snoring, how to stop snoring, and Snoring Myths.

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Sleep Revitalizes your Mind, Body, & Heart

The body goes under many transformations, while it is in the state of rest during sleep. There are many essential functions that take place in the body such as tissue repair, memory and energy restoration, release of essential hormones, muscle relaxation, and others. While you are asleep, the brain releases indispensable hormones that promote tissue growth. This process helps your body rejuvenate from the daily hustle bustle. Moreover, tissue growth aids in the recovery from wounds or cuts. Sunita Kumar, Co-Director, Centre for Sleep Disorders, Loyola University Medical Centre, aptly remarks that during sleep the body produces more white blood cells, to fight countless bacteria and viruses1. The heart rate also registers a dip during sleep, which according to Ms. Kumar, strengthens the heart as it is at rest with lowered activity. Moreover, a good night’s sleep also reduces the chances of getting afflicted with heart diseases.

Good Sleep = Sharp Memory

Sleep is a time, when becomes sharp and strong. Sleep quantity and quality play a fundamental role in determining what one remembers and what one doesnt. Therefore, development of long-term memory (LTM) from short-term memory (STM) happens during sleep.  Scientific researches state that the brain follows a different mechanism for storing memories through the hippocampus and neo-cortex areas. Hippocampus helps you to remember your life experiences (childhood memories), while the neo-cortex is responsible for remembering the concepts you learn (name of a color). Communications and sync between the two, helps in learning new data and updating old ones.

Sleep Steers Hormonal Hunger

Sleep not only affects your energy levels and mental functions, but also regulates your body weight. Improper sleep is related to the increasing cases of obesity, worldwide2. Many hormones which regulate the feeling of hunger (ghrelin) and signal the feeling of being full (leptin), are all influenced by the quality of your sleep.  Leptin: This is also known as satiety hormone, which is produced by the fat cells of the body. It prevents overeating by sending signals to the brain that the body does not require more food, as there is enough to fuel the body.  Ghrelin: This hunger hormone is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, which signifies the body that there is need for food. This hormone rises in the body, when you feel hungry and decreases when you have consumed some food.  Studies show that people who have disrupted patterns of sleep - have larger appetite, because of higher ghrelin secretion and lowered secretion of leptin. This imbalance in the secretion of these hormones is a result of improper sleep patterns3.

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Reference

1

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/discomfort-15/better-sleep/healing-power-sleep?page=2

2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3619301/

3

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3619301/