Women, don’t ignore your snore

A new study reveals that women underreport their snoring habit. Here is why they shouldn't hesitate to open up about this habit to their physicians.

By: Ajay Pal Singh | | Published: May 9, 2019 9:03 pm

Snoring is a condition where the tissues inside your throat moderately block the airways and vibrate. ©Getty Images

Turns out that women are not comfortable in admitting that they snore. According to the findings of a new research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, women underreported the occurrence and intensity of their snoring compared to men. However, there was no difference in the intensity of this snooze-time habit among both the genders, found the researchers of this study. In the survey, the researchers found that 72 per cent of women reported that they snore while the figure for men stood at 93.1 per cent. The study also found that the female participants were unwilling to agree that they snore severely. While 49 per cent women exhibited intense snoring habits, only 40 per cent evaluated the severity of this habit accurately. Also Read - Women with severe menopause symptoms more likely to experience sexual dysfunction

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Study authors speculate that the social stigma linked to snoring could be the reason behind women’s hesitation to reveal this habit. Lead author Nimrod Maimon mentioned that underreporting this habit makes the diagnosis of sleep apnoea among women a difficult task. Also Read - How to use lavender oil to relieve tension headaches

Sleep apnoea or obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a disease that is closely associated with snoring. But they are not the same thing. The physiology behind these two conditions is different. Snoring is a condition where the tissues inside your throat moderately block the airways and vibrate. This produces the snoring sound. The intensity of the sound can vary from person to person depending on various factors like body weight and alcohol consumption. On the other hand, OSA is a condition where there is blockage in your nose, mouth, throat or lungs that impairs the free flow of air through these passages. In this condition, you will feel difficulty in breathing and snore more loudly than usual. Also, people with obstructive sleep apnoea tend to stop breathing for a while due to blockage in their airways when they sleep. All these lead to poor sleep quality. When a person with OSA lies down or sleeps, the tongue tends to fall back and cause the snoring sound, says Dr Rohit Bansil, Consultant neurosurgeon, BLK Super Speciality Hospital.

Apart from sleep apnoea, snoring is also linked to quite a few other ailments. So, don’t ignore this seemingly innocuous habit. It could also be the precursor to something as serious as stroke.

Stroke

Snoring is often considered as a precursor to sleep apnoea, a condition that disrupts your sleep cycle and restricts oxygen supply to your brain. Impaired blood supply to the brain may trigger a stroke. You may experience symptoms like sudden headache, loss of vision if you experience a stroke. When you don’t get adequate sleep, you get anxious and may even go into depression. All of these can become the risk factor for developing a stroke, says Dr Bansil. Also, a 2015 study presented at the International Stroke Conference suggested that poor sleep could increase your risk of suffering from a stroke. In the study, researchers found that people who snore, sleep for more than 8 hours at night and feel drowsy during the day fall in the high risk group for stroke.

Mental health problems

Frequent snoring lead to poor sleep quality leading to a number of mental health problems such as depression and stress. According to a research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that accounted for 9,700 participants, 6 per cent male and 3 per cent female participants admitted that they were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea. They also developed symptoms of depression and feelings of hopelessness. Whenever a person snores, people around him tend to get disturbed. So, snorers are bullied quite often. This makes them anxious when they go to bed, says Dr Bansil. They are conscious and scared of the fact that they might be disturbing others. Also, these people get less amount of sleep which leads to depression, adds Dr Bansil. In another study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the researchers reported that the rate of depressive symptoms are higher in patients of sleep apnoea.

Arrhythmia

Normally, your heart beats at a rate of 70 to 80 beats per minute. However, in some cases, the rate can fluctuate (either it beats too fast or too slow). This condition is known as arrhythmia. There are various causes behind this condition including snoring induced by sleep apnoea. Though there are no specific symptoms of this condition, your doctor can look for potential signs such as slow or rapid heartbeat, chest pain, breathing problem and sweating. According to a study published in the journal Annals of Thoracic Medicine, sleep breathing disorder like sleep apnoea can interfere with your heart s regular rhythm and lead to arrhythmia.

Persistent headaches

Getting a headache once in a while is very common. But if you start to wake up everyday with a heavy or dizzy head, you need to visit your doctor. Several studies suggest that snoring is one of the potential culprits a chronic headache. The apprehensive behaviour due to snoring can cause various hormonal changes in the body. This can lead to headaches, adds Dr Bansil. A 2003 study conducted at the National Institute on Aging revealed that habitual snorers are more likely to suffer from chronic headaches than episodic headaches. In the study, majority of the participants who complained about regular headaches admitted that they snore.

Low libido

It is no rocket science that when you hear complaints from your partner about your snoring habit, it takes a toll on your confidence. The anxiety and depression that come along with snoring can wreak havoc with your body image and hormones as well. These hormonal changes in the body along with depression can decrease your sex drive, says Dr Bansil.

Published : May 9, 2019 9:03 pm

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