Hi,
By what you are describing it seems you have sleep apnoea. Apnoea refers to short spells when breathing stops. In obstructive sleep apnoea, the throat is sucked closed during sleep. Sleep apnoea is periods when you stop breathing while you're sleeping. These interruptions in your breathing, which can last 10 seconds or longer, occur when the muscles in your soft palate, uvula, tongue and tonsils relax during sleep. This is the same process involved with normal snoring, but with sleep apnoea, the airway narrows so much that it closes. Your breathing stops, cutting off the flow of oxygen into your body and reducing the elimination of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the blood. Your brain detects this rise in CO2 and briefly wakes you up, re-opening your airways and re-starting your breathing. This process can be repeated several times during the night.
The main causes for this problem
- having a throat that is naturally narrower than normal. This will not cause trouble with your swallowing or breathing when you are awake.
- Being overweight, as men especially can put down fat in the neck, which makes the throat more narrow.
- Other factors that can't be helped include heredity - some families have smaller throats - and ageing - our throats become smaller as we age.
- Drinking alcohol relaxes the throat opening muscles so it will make snoring and apnoea worse.
- Certain types of allergy tablets (antihistamines), or sleeping pills will also have this effect.
There can be some risks of sleep apnoea-
- An increased risk of road accidents or accidents at work because of sleepiness. Some authorities now suggest that up to a quarter of road accidents may be caused by the effects of OSA, especially with motorway driving.
- Difficulty with concentration.
- Features suggesting depression.
- High blood pressure.
- A slightly increased risk of angina, heart attacks and strokes.
There area few measures which you can try on your own
- Lose weight by dieting, especially cutting back on fats, sweets and alcohol.
- Exercise will help. Exercise is most effective if it is done for 20 minutes or more at least two or three times a week.
- Don't drink alcohol for three hours before going to bed.
- Avoid taking sleeping pills or sedatives and certain allergy tablets (antihistamines) before going to bed.
- Sleep on your side or with your head elevated - you could raise the top end of the bed.
If you snore a lot in your sleep then it is most definitly sleep apnoea you are suffering from. I would suggest you to consider the above remedies. If you still donot improve, then I would suggest you to see your doctor. You might need some other treatment for sleep apnoea.
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regards
Dr. Gupta
