“Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone,” Anthony Burgess jokingly said this once. But if you ponder deep on the sentence, you will realize it’s true. No one likes to sleep with a person who snores.
The noise of a really rasping snore can go up to 69 decibels which is enough to disrupt the sleep of everyone sleeping in the house. ‘Snore’ was once called ‘snort’ and was applied to animals. Shakespeare was the first to use the word ‘snore’ for human snoring. There are many more interesting facts and myths about snoring which you must be unaware of. Let’s dive deeper into the echo of a snore.
- Snoring is hereditary
Lifestyle and health are more common factors associated with snoring. But recent studies have shown that snoring is hereditary. About 70% of snorers have another snorer in their family. So, if your parent snored that you are likely to snore in 7 out of 10 cases. But if your parents’ lifestyleis the reason why they snore, and you have a different lifestyle, then there is no reason why you should snore.
Snoring is not at all associated with diabetes history. However, if either of your parents snores, you might carry the ‘snore’ gene in you. Studies have also revealed that snoring could be a predictor of future bad behavior in children, like hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression. Also, snoring wakes up children, affecting their learning and behavior.
Interesting Fact – Research has shown that about 6 percent of kids’ snore. Young children who snore often have tonsil or adenoid problems.
- How loud do you Snore?
A normal human ear can withstand the threshold of 60 decibels. The sound level above which the ear starts aching is 120 decibels. Snoring sound level ranges from 50 to 120 decibels. It’s like having a food grinder or drill machine right next to your ear. You can suffer from impaired hearing if exposed to this kind of noise daily for eight hours.
Interesting Facts –
- One of the loudest recorded snorers of the world snores at 111dB, which is louder than a low-flying jet.
- Tom Cruise snores so loudly that he converted a spare bedroom of his house into a snoratorium, so that his former wife Katie Holmes could sleep in peace.
- Men Snore More
Men are twice more likely to snore than women. Statistically speaking, about 30 percent of women and 40 percent of men snore. And people are susceptible to snoring with age. In old age, there are just as many women snorers as men. It is found that woman snorers are shorter and heavier. Also, women snore through their noses rather than their mouths whereas for men it is more likely to be both. Irrespective of the age, the person who snores can’t hear himself snoring.
In pregnancy, there are increased chances of snoring. Pregnant women who snore are more likely to have a C-section deliveryor are found to deliver smaller babies. Also, if women start snoring after pregnancy, there are increased risks for high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
Snoring increases the chances of heart attack and stroke in both men and women.
- Astronauts don’t snore
No gravity, so no snore – seems to be the mantra in space. Studies have revealed that lack of gravity makes astronauts snore less in sleep. On Earth, gravity pulls the tongue and soft tissue of the palate backward. If the airway is obstructed, these tissues start flapping. In zero gravity, the tongue and jaw don’t fall back in the throat, so there is little obstruction of the airway in space.
- Why do you snore?
When the throat muscles relax excessively, you start snoring. Alcohol, smoking, sedatives, and drugs are some common habits that can aggravate your snoring. They relax the throat muscles or cause the pulling back of the tongue in the throat. In both the cases, the result is snoring.
Other causes are
- Nasal congestion caused by allergies
- Tumors and cysts in the throat
- Structural deformities of the nose, like a deviated septum
Snoring can be treated with simple throat and tongue exercise, drinking plenty of water, regular exercising, maintaining a specific sleep posture or using various devices like nasal strips. Today there are new and innovative methods to treat snoring like using tongue stabilizing devices like Aveo TSD, laser treatment, and surgery.
- Daytime Sleepiness or tiredness
Even after getting a full night’s rest, when you continue to feel drowsy or tired the whole day, for more than a week, then its time to consult your doctor. Daytime sleepiness always means a person isn’t getting enough sleep. It could be a sign of underlying medical disorder called sleep apnea. Snoring, left untreated can lead to sleep apnea. Although sleep apnea is a serious medical condition, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.
Sleeping is a quiet activity. Humans spend about a third of their lives sleeping. When you sleep the body relaxes and heals itself. So, for a better and fresher start of a coming tomorrow, get that ugly snore treated and sleep soundly.