We all dread the thought of sleeping in the same room with a snorer. Having to endure noise that sounds like a chain saw felling trees is hardly pleasant. 

However, because snoring is such a common occurrence, we are quick to ignore it, passing it off as nothing more than a distracting noise from someone in slumber.

According to Dr Rachna Pande, a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital, snoring is most likely to occur in middle-aged men and women, especially if they are obese. Men are more prone to snoring and experts attribute this to the fact that males have larger muscles than females.

Before you wake that person up for the umpteenth time or before you cringe and cover your head with a pillow, disgruntled over the noise, put into consideration that the snoring could be as a result of an underlying health condition. Moreover, snoring could lead to a number of health complications.

Possible causes of snoring

To understand the reasons why people snore, we need to understand the science behind it. According to Achille Manirakiza, a doctor at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, snoring is caused by a high airflow in a tiny airway.

He explains that when people are asleep, all the muscles are relaxed, causing the muscles of the tongue and the back of the mouth to fall on the upper palate of the mouth and cause blockage to the normal breathing activity, resulting in snoring.

"If you want to see how that works,” he says, "try getting your air in with your mouth open and tongue on the upper part — palate; you will get the same noise.”

The most commonly known reason for snoring is a bad sleep position. According to experts, people are more likely to snore when they sleep on their backs because gravity’s effect on the throat narrows the airway.

Snoring is also caused by exhaustion, allergies and sinus infections, as well as alcohol consumption. Some sleeping pills are also likely to cause one to snore.

Dr Leonard Karemera, a general practitioner in Kigali, also attributes snoring to chronic nasal congestion and enlarged tonsils. It sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? Snoring should therefore never be cause for worry, should it?

"It’s not good to take it for granted,” says Dr Karemera.

"If the snorer has symptoms such as headache, depression, the frequent need to urinate in the middle of the night, excessive daytime sleepiness, or if the person chocks and gasps while they sleep, they are likely to be suffering from a sleeping disorder known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA),” he adds.

Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Drugs.com, an American online encyclopaedia, defines OSA as a condition in which the flow of air pauses or decreases during breathing while you are asleep because the airway has become narrowed, blocked or floppy.

Dr Manirakiza says that OSA is the most worrisome condition among snorers but some of them do not know because they haven’t sought a diagnosis. Studies show that 75% of people who snore have OSA. The reason why OSA is worrisome is because people with this condition are likely to have very low oxygen content in their blood.

An article about oxygen deficiency, Body Design Centre (BDC), a health service company, indicates that low oxygen content in the blood has been linked to major health complications such as cancer.

Additionally, prolonged suffering from OSA has been linked to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, as well as pulmonary hypertension.

According to experts, a person with oxygen deficiency may exhibit irrational behaviour, irritability, sexual dysfunction, dizziness, depression, general body weakness, weight gain, poor digestion among other things.

It is therefore advisable to look out for such symptoms because "you can go three weeks without food, three days without water but you can’t go three minutes without oxygen,” says BDC.

As earlier mentioned, obesity is one of the major causes of snoring and this means that an obese person is more likely to suffer from OSA. It is therefore interesting and quite alarming that OSA in turn leads to obesity.

In an article about Obesity and Sleep, the National Sleep Foundation of the USA indicated that a person suffering from sleep disordered breathing may not be motivated to exercise or diet. This is attributed to the fact that OSA can lead to daytime sleepiness.

Studies show that sleep deprivation, among other things, leads to a decline in the ability to process glucose, increased appetite and increased calorie intake.

OSA and disruption of activities

OSA is indicated as the major cause of daytime sleepiness. Persons suffering from daytime sleepiness have cited drowsiness, inertness, fatigue and sluggishness among their symptoms. Daytime sleepiness is not only responsible for low concentration and productivity but it is also attributed to motor vehicle related accidents.

Remedies to snoring

Before snoring ruins your health or before the noise disrupts the sleeping patterns of your loved ones, there are measures you consider.

"The remedies to snoring are pretty simple,” says Dr Manirakiza. "If you are obese or overweight, take measures such as exercising and maintaining a good diet in order to decrease weight. Practice good sleep behaviour by sleeping on time and avoiding heavy work before sleeping time,” he explains.

Additionally, Dr Pande recommends sleeping on the side instead of sleeping on the back and elevating the head position since this may help to keep the airways open. She also advises people with tonsillitis or nasal congestion to do some steam inhalation before sleeping.

People with rhinitis are also advised to avoid cold environments. Alcohol intake is discouraged especially at bedtime.

In addition to lifestyle modifications (losing weight or changing your sleeping position), some doctors sometimes recommend a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device for nightly use. Surgery is also possible.

At the end of the day, Dr Karemera says that snoring can be put to a stop once you know the underlying causes (which you can do if you seek medical assistance) and deal with them.