Is Your Snoring Trying to Tell You Something?

Snoring is one of those things people often discover about themselves through someone else. You may sleep peacefully through the whole performance, while your partner lies awake listening to a noise which seems capable of rattling the windows. For many people, occasional snoring is simply an irritating part of sleep and nothing to worry about. Persistent, loud snoring can be different, particularly when other symptoms appear alongside it.

Why do we snore?

Snoring occurs when the airway becomes narrower during sleep, causing soft tissues in the throat, mouth or nose to vibrate as air passes through. The degree of narrowing can vary from night to night, which helps explain why someone who rarely snores may suddenly become surprisingly loud after a few drinks, during a bout of nasal congestion or after a particularly tiring day. Weight, alcohol, smoking, certain sedating medicines and the structure of the nose, mouth and throat can all contribute.

Sleeping position can make a difference too. Some people find their snoring becomes worse when they sleep on their back, while turning onto their side can reduce it. Losing weight where appropriate, reducing alcohol, stopping smoking and addressing nasal congestion may help some people, although there isn’t one solution which works for every snorer.

The important point is simple: snoring does not automatically mean something is wrong. Plenty of people snore without having a sleep disorder, and there is no need to regard every nighttime rumble as a medical emergency. The situation becomes more interesting when snoring is loud and frequent, or when somebody notices unusual breathing during sleep.

When snoring deserves a closer look

A partner or family member may notice something the snorer never does. Perhaps the snoring is interrupted by periods when breathing appears to stop, or the person makes choking noises during the night. These can be signs of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a condition in which the airway can become blocked during sleep, causing pauses in breathing.

Daytime clues can be just as important. Someone may wake feeling as though they have barely slept, struggle with tiredness during the day, develop morning headaches or find concentration more difficult than usual. A dry mouth, frequent trips to the toilet during the night, irritability and changes in mood can occur too. None of these symptoms proves sleep apnoea, since several can have other causes, but a combination of loud snoring and disrupted sleep is worth discussing with a healthcare professional.

It is easy to dismiss tiredness as an inevitable part of getting older, particularly when life is busy or sleep has never been perfect. Persistent daytime fatigue deserves a little more curiosity, though. If someone regularly wakes unrefreshed despite allowing enough time for sleep, or finds themselves fighting sleep while reading, watching television or driving, it is sensible to consider whether something is disrupting their sleep rather than simply accepting it as normal.

The person beside you may have useful information

One of the peculiar things about sleep problems is how difficult they can be to observe yourself. You cannot easily know whether you stopped breathing at 2am, how loudly you snored or whether you repeatedly woke without remembering it in the morning. A partner can sometimes provide valuable information, so rather than becoming defensive about complaints of snoring, it is worth asking what they actually notice.

If you sleep alone, there may be nobody to tell you what happens during the night, making the clues harder to spot. In this situation, persistent snoring combined with a sense of poor-quality sleep or unexplained daytime fatigue may be worth discussing with your GP. If sleep apnoea is suspected, Health NZ notes a healthcare professional may refer you for a sleep study, which can help determine what is happening while you sleep.

What can you do about ordinary snoring?

If there are no signs of sleep apnoea, a few straightforward changes may be worth trying. Sleeping on your side rather than your back helps some people, while reducing alcohol in the evening can make a difference because alcohol can contribute to relaxation and narrowing of the upper airway. Addressing nasal congestion may help when blocked nasal passages are part of the problem. Maintaining a healthy weight and stopping smoking can have wider health benefits as well as potentially reducing snoring.

There are mouth and nasal devices marketed for snoring, but it is worth being cautious about treating the noise without considering its cause. If loud snoring is accompanied by breathing pauses, choking or significant daytime sleepiness, simply trying to make the snoring quieter could miss the more important issue. A healthcare professional can help determine whether further assessment is appropriate.

Don’t ignore the breathing pauses

Snoring itself may be little more than a nuisance, but repeated pauses in breathing are a different matter. Obstructive sleep apnoea can disrupt sleep and reduce oxygen levels, and untreated OSA is associated with problems including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

So if your partner tells you your snoring is occasionally interrupted by what sounds like a complete stop in breathing, it is worth listening rather than simply apologising for keeping them awake. Likewise, if you are persistently exhausted during the day despite apparently getting enough sleep, mention it to your healthcare provider.

You may simply be a noisy sleeper. Or your snoring may be providing a useful clue to something else going on while you sleep. Either way, finding out is more productive than arguing about whose turn it is to sleep in the spare room.