Snoring is more prevalent than you may think. About half of all adults snore on occasion, and about a quarter snore regularly. It can be caused by a wide variety of lifestyle choices and physiological factors. Alcohol use, congestion, and loose tissues in the throat can all result in snoring, but weight is often a contributing factor. Even if you’re managing all of your other vitals and keeping them within a healthy range, excess weight puts more pressure on the physical structures of the body, including your respiratory system. Now do you snore because of being overweight?
Do I Snore Because I Am Overweight?
In all honesty, it’s gravity working against you. Patients who are severely overweight tend to have that weight relatively well-distributed throughout the body. It’s more obvious in some regions, but they will also carry excess weight around their neck and other peripheral areas. When you go to lay down, gravity pulls on that excess tissue. If you’re lucky, it isn’t too much for your trachea to handle. If you aren’t, the trachea will partially collapse onto itself blocking the airway throughout the night causing the condition we know as obstructive sleep apnea.
Early Symptoms
The most easily noticeable symptom of sleep apnea is snoring. An attentive partner may also notice momentary cessations of breath, but snoring is usually much easier to identify. Sleep apnea patients have a tendency to snore so loudly that it disturbs their partners’ sleep. And their partners usually develop the habit of rolling the patient over because it lessens the snoring. Of course, knowing what we do about sleep apnea, this makes sense. Sleeping on your side reduces the direct downward pressure on the front of the upper airway, making it less likely that it will compress to the point of blocking the pathway.
Unfortunately, this is just a stop-gap, and it fails to address the underlying issue. Patients with sleep apnea cannot always control their sleeping position, and they are unlikely to experience quality sleep. Over a long period of time, the condition can result in noticeable sleep deprivation. That may not sound serious, but it could cause the patient to fall asleep unexpectedly or lose focus. Given the right circumstances, the results can be traumatic. That is why it is so important to take the condition seriously, and contact your sleep doctor in NYC if you suspect that you, your partner, or your child may have a sleep disorder.
Treating Chronic Snoring
If you’re a chronic snorer, there’s a very good chance of a medical explanation. It may be sleep apnea, and it may not. Either way your sleep doctor can help you to identify the underlying cause so that you and your family members can enjoy more restful sleep. We are fortunate to have an arsenal of snoring treatments available to us in the 21st century. From the revolutionary mandibular advancement device to CPAP therapy your snoring treatment in New York City will use the most advanced medical technology to find something that works for you.
You may have to be patient at first. Every person is different, and it could take some time to find the right device if your chronic snoring is not caused by obstructive sleep apnea. In addition to providing a full medical history, patients are typically expected to participate in sleep studies along with other routine tests to ensure that your doctor can evaluate your symptoms in real-time. Based on this information, you will be matched with the appropriate treatment. Then we re-evaluate you at a later date to ensure that the treatment helps. It may take some time, but your sleep doctor will find what works best for you.
