Snoring can cause systemic damage to the whole body?! Try these 4 tips to stop snoring!

In the dead of night, it should be a peaceful and quiet sleep time, but it is often disturbed by the "symphony" in the ear - snoring. Don't underestimate snoring, a seemingly normal behavior, which can even cause systemic damage to the whole body in severe cases.

Normally, going to the hospital to treat snoring may cause a lot of inconvenience. Now, Xiaoxuan will introduce you to several effective and convenient methods to treat snoring, and especially recommend an extremely practical tool.

1

What is snoring?

Snoring - obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) , is actually the vibration caused by the relaxation of throat muscles and narrowing of airway when the human body is sleeping, and the airflow passing through the narrow airway .

Any factors that lead to narrowing of the airway can cause snoring, including anatomical abnormalities , such as short neck, enlarged tonsils, retruded mandible, micrognathia , or combined with hypothyroidism, nasal polyps, nasopharyngeal disease, acromegaly, rhinitis neuromuscular disease , etc. It may also be the accumulation of bad living habits, such as smoking, excessive fatigue, drinking before bed , etc. In addition, factors such as aging and genetics may also increase the risk of snoring.

For women, their progesterone and estrogen can help stabilize the respiratory center. However, some women may suddenly become snorers after entering menopause due to the decline in estrogen and progesterone levels .

However, when snoring becomes irregular and accompanied by symptoms such as interrupted breathing, breath holding or waking up from sleep, dizziness in the morning, and daytime sleepiness, you may be suffering from sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome and need to go to a sleep center for professional polysomnography (PSG) in time. This type of snoring can lead to chronic persistent hypoxemia and cause systemic damage to the body .

2

Four tips to stop snoring

1. Weight loss: Reduce the trouble of snoring

For snoring caused by obesity, weight loss is the preferred treatment. The pharynx, soft palate, tongue and other organs of obese patients are relatively enlarged due to fat deposition, resulting in a relatively narrow nasopharyngeal cavity . During sleep, the root of the tongue falls back due to gravity, compressing the airway, causing upper airway obstruction. In addition, a large amount of fat accumulated around the throat or airway can also lead to airway restriction and difficulty breathing when lying on your back. Studies have shown that a 10% weight loss can relieve snoring symptoms by 20-30% .

2. Adjust your sleeping position: the secret to avoiding snoring

When sleeping in a supine position, the tongue root falls back, and the tongue is easy to slide backwards and block the throat, causing airway obstruction . Especially for obese people, the airway is more likely to collapse when breathing, and supine sleep apnea will be aggravated. It is recommended to adjust to a side-lying position, especially the right side, which can effectively prevent the tongue root from falling back and reduce snoring . For patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea, positional therapy such as using a sleeping pillow may help alleviate symptoms.

3. Ventilator: An effective tool to relieve snoring

For patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea or patients who cannot undergo surgery, it is recommended to use a ventilator during sleep. The ventilator automatically and continuously provides a certain positive pressure to the human respiratory tract through the pipeline , just like a gas stent, which opens the collapsed airway and makes breathing smooth. This mode of continuous positive airway pressure ventilation, referred to as CPAP, is currently the main method used to treat OSA at home and abroad. In addition, there is also a single-level fully automatic ventilator (Auto-CPAP, APAP mode), which can monitor the user's airway in real time to see if it is unobstructed, and automatically sense upper airway resistance and respiratory events.

For OSA patients who cannot tolerate CPAP, or patients with neuromuscular diseases and COPD, it is recommended to use a bi-level ventilator (BiPAP mode) . This ventilator sets both the inspiratory pressure (IPAP) and the expiratory pressure (EPAP) to provide pressure support during inspiration and prevent upper airway collapse during exhalation. The function of switching between pressures as the patient inhales and exhales makes BiPAP an ideal choice for patients who have difficulty withstanding the continuous high-pressure airflow of CPAP.

For snoring caused by anatomical abnormalities , such as enlarged tonsils, long soft palate, nasal polyps, and maxillofacial deformities , surgical treatment may be considered.

4. Surgical treatment: a solution for severe snoring

Surgical methods include uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), maxillary advancement, maxillofacial surgery , etc. However, although surgical methods can relieve obstruction, new obstruction may also occur in other parts due to the change in gas dynamic characteristics. Therefore, the effect of surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is not always ideal, and the success rate is often related to the severity of the disease.

After UPPP surgery, the sleep apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) can be reduced by about one third, but there may still be a lot of sleep apnea or hypopnea after surgery, and about 50% of patients will relapse within 2 to 3 years. However, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are the standard treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea in children. For patients who cannot cooperate with ventilator therapy or oral corrective appliances for a long time, surgical treatment can be an alternative option.

But please note that the various methods circulating on the Internet, such as nasal drops and nose clips, may not have any substantial effect. If snoring occurs frequently and affects your daily life, you should seek professional medical help.

Author: Wu Xu

Guiding expert: Li Shanqun

Source: Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University