A study carried out by the Instituto do Sono, in São Paulo, reveals that 42% of people in São Paulo snore three times a week or more. The intense noise caused by snoring that generates family fights and jokes between friends can hide diseases such as obstructive sleep apnea, which causes several pauses in breathing, resulting in sleep fragmentation, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, memory and mood changes. According to the same study, 32.9% of people in São Paulo have sleep apnea.
According to otorhinolaryngologist Sandra Doria Xavier, from the Sleep Institute, factors such as advanced age, obesity, hormonal changes and changes in the structures of the upper airways are risk factors for the problem. This sleep disorder increases the risk for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
“When we sleep, breathing must be silent. Otherwise, it is necessary to identify if there is only noise or if there is an association with some disease”, explains the doctor.
Snoring can also be a symptom of conditions that cause airway obstruction, such as polyps in the nose, an enlarged adenoid, a retracted chin, and a narrow dental arch. In adults, snoring can be caused by rhinitis, sinusitis, deviated septum, changes in the larynx, among others.
In children, noise is most often caused by an increase in the tonsils or adenoids, which are the body’s defense organs, but when greatly increased, they can harm health instead of helping to fight infectious agents.
Apnea
One of the main conditions that cause snoring, obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by the complete or partial obstruction of airflow in the airways while the person sleeps. When this happens, the person may snore loudly or make choking noises while trying to breathe, as the body does not receive adequate oxygen. If untreated, obstructive sleep apnea is a high risk factor for problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, depression, among others.
According to the specialist, snoring punctually is not always synonymous with illness. The problem can occur in any healthy individual who, due to some temporary problem, has their airways obstructed. This is the case of people affected by the flu and attacks of rhinitis and sinusitis. The consumption of alcoholic beverages, sedative medications and muscle relaxants can also contribute to increase the sagging of the muscles in the throat region.
“The great villain in the history of snoring is weight gain, which was very common in the pandemic. People gained weight and started to snore”, says Sandra Doria Xavier.
Overweight and obesity favor the problem, because the fatty tissue in the neck causes the air to not flow in a linear way, the so-called turbulence in the airway, and the emergence of noise. At the same time, it promotes the narrowing of the throat, leading to apnea.
The second condition that favors snoring is old age. As well as making the muscles in the arms and legs more flaccid, aging causes a loss of muscle tone and collagen in the airways. The flaccidity of the muscles facilitates the vibration of the tissues and, consequently, the appearance of noises with the passage of air.
Males are more prone to snoring, due to hormonal factors and the anatomy of the airways. However, with menopause, women lose the protection of female hormones. Throat muscles weaken, which increases the risk of snoring. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the proportion of people who snore in the United States is 57% men and 40% women.
diagnosis and treatment
To diagnose snoring, experts use a sleep study called polysomnography, which monitors sleep and breathing parameters. The exam allows the doctor to differentiate between primary snoring and apnea. Among the treatments are weight reduction, physical activity, reduced alcohol consumption and the elimination of medications that can increase muscle relaxation.
Snoring can also be treated with airway speech therapy, the use of intraoral devices or positive pressure devices, and even surgical procedures in the airways.
“In the past, every patient who snored was given a snoring surgery. Over time, it was found that the success rate is very low and the ENTs were frowned upon. Currently, pharyngoplasty is only indicated in the physical examination, when we find large tonsils, a large palate or signs that, possibly, the patient will really benefit from the surgery”, he argued.
no complaints
Even people who don’t know if they snore can identify the problem by other symptoms, such as dry mouth and waking up tired in the morning, drowsiness, difficulty staying asleep, lack of attention or waking up with a headache. In addition to medical support, there are mobile apps that check the quality of sleep or the presence of snoring.
The sleep specialist warns that, despite family complaints and jokes, snoring treatment should be done to increase the person’s own quality of life and not others. “Snoring is not someone else’s problem. Treating snoring is not helping the other person to live better. In reality, it is attention in itself. Treating snoring is for the person to sleep better, have a better quality of life and, consequently, minimize the risk factors that come from unresolved sleep apnea,” she said.
