Although snoring is often depicted as a humorous sound that your body can make, it’s often a sign of an underlying health problem like sleep apnea. It might look funny to see someone snoring on TV, but in real life, snoring can make a huge impact on relationships. Imagine trying to fall asleep and your partner is lying there snoring loudly. If you’re a light sleeper, you’re probably not going to get much sleep that night. If the snoring continues night after night, you’re going to feel sleep deprived and your irritability will begin to rub off on your relationship.
On the flip side, if you’re the snorer, you might be suffering from untreated sleep apnea. As a result, you’re also not getting a good night of sleep. You might also have a few health problems such as fatigue and sexual dysfunction. Your partner also might seem upset with you for snoring but you can’t help it.
Combine all of these factors with the irritability from not sleeping well and you’ve got the perfect combination for a rocky and sexless relationship.
Neither party is getting a good night of sleep and as a result, the relationship will suffer. So how can you save your relationship? Treat the source of the problem—snoring.
What Causes Snoring in Women?
One of the top misconceptions about snoring is that it only occurs in men. This is far from the truth. Nearly 24% of women snore habitually in comparison to 40% of men. However, some of the causes of snoring in females are different than for males.
- Age – After age 30, women are more likely to experience snoring.
- Menopause – Menopause can reduce muscle tone in the throat which can obstruct the airway and cause snoring.
- Weight – Women tend to gain weight with hormonal changes, pregnancy, and menopause. Weight gain can cause excess fat build-up in the neck and obstruct the airway and cause snoring.
- Pregnancy – Snoring during pregnancy is common because pregnancy causes the blood vessels in the nasal cavity to expand as the body gains weight.
What Causes Snoring in Men?
Unlike women, men don’t have gender-specific factors that contribute to their snoring besides anatomy. Men typically have larger necks and therefore larger airways. This means there is more room in their throat for producing the vibrations that cause the snoring sound. Additionally, the larynxes are lower in the neck than in women. The larynx is the hollow muscle that forms the air passage that leads to the lungs. Men also carry more weight in their chest, thorax, and neck. As a result, weight gain is more likely to occur in these areas and obstruct the airway.
Other Factors That Contribute to Snoring
Both men and women can snore due to other factors including:
- Alcohol use
- Sedatives
- Excess weight
- Sleeping on back
- Allergies, colds, flu
- Large uvula
- Large tonsils or adenoids
- Deviated septum or other nasal injuries
- Sleep apnea
Studies Show That Snoring Interferes with Sex Life
According to a new study, many people believe that snoring is interfering with their sex life. Apart from the physical effects of sleep apnea on your sexual abilities, this survey focused on the impact snoring has on your relationship with your partners.
One common effect of snoring is to force partners into separate bedrooms. In this survey, this occurred in 37% of respondents, and it resulted in them feeling emotionally distant from their partners, according to about 70% of men and 65% of women.
With these negative impacts, it’s not surprising that 1 in 5 people said that snoring was the cause of a relationship ending, including breakups and divorce.
Should You Sleep in Separate Beds?
You might think that one way to help save your relationship is to sleep in separate beds as your partner (and likely separate rooms to block out the snoring). Getting sleep divorced is a new trend but roughly 25% of couples in America actually sleep in different beds. 90% of the time someone sleeps in a different room, it’s due to snoring. Although this is a great solution, this won’t help your sex life. It also won’t address the route cause of the snoring. By not addressing the route cause of snoring, the snorer will continue to face the health risks of leaving the problem untreated.
Snoring Also Affects Your Health, Happiness, and Quality of Life
This is just the most recent study that highlights the impact of snoring on your quality of life. Sleep apnea can reduce your happiness and make it harder for you to go about your daily activities. Even if you don’t have sleep apnea, snoring is a sign that you are not breathing properly when you sleep, which leads to decreased sleep quality and therefore decreased rest.
When you’re not sleeping properly, especially due to sleep apnea, it can increase your risk of serious health complications like heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and more.
Snoring can also lead to violence, disagreements, and fights in your relationship. Unhappiness and constant fights in your relationship can impact your overall quality of life and happiness.
Save Your Relationship With Snoring Treatment in Omaha
If you want peace in your house, you should consider snoring treatment to reduce or eliminate the sound of disordered sleep. Even if you’ve tried over-the-counter options without success, we offer several different solutions that will help.
If snoring is impacting your relationship, the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center in Omaha can help. Please call (402) 493-4175 today for an appointment.
