Snoring and Sleep Apnea

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This post is sponsored by The Iowa Clinic.

snoringThe duties of motherhood lead to a lack of sleep. First, you’re up multiple times a night caring for your baby. As your child grows, the nighttime feedings go down, but it can take a while for them to sleep through the night.

Each time you get out of bed is a disruption. Meanwhile, your husband is snoring away undisturbed. You think he’s lucky. But what if he’s not-so-silently suffering from sleep issues himself?

sleep apnea

Snoring might be a sign of sleep apnea.

That loud, chainsaw sound emitting from your partner has always caused you sleep troubles. It could be the symptom of a sleep disorder for him too. Loud, persistent snoring is one of the main signs of sleep apnea, along with paused breathing, gasping and excessive sleepiness in the daytime.

Sleep apnea is the result of an air flow issue — either the air flow is decreased or completely blocked during sleep. Less air means less oxygen is getting into the lungs and elsewhere in the body.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the type most often associated with snoring. It’s also the most common. Your husband’s nose, throat, or nasal passages are obstructed in some way that prevents your upper airways from working properly. That’s why he snores.

Another, less common type is central sleep apnea, where there is no obstruction. Instead, the brain is failing to initiate breathing, repeatedly starting and stopping it throughout the night.

Your husband’s snoring might only seem like an annoyance, but sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening condition.

Sleep apnea is linked to more serious health issues.

Any breathing difficulty can be dangerous. It’s especially problematic when it happens during sleep. Your husband may not even know it. You only notice it if you’re awake at that time or the snoring and gasping rouses you from sleep. The difficulties add up long-term and can present even bigger health problems:

  • High blood pressure – When your husband isn’t breathing, there’s less oxygen circulating in his body. His blood vessels constrict to help increase the flow, raising his blood pressure in the process.
  • Heart issues – High blood pressure can hang around during the daytime and become full-on hypertension. Hypertension can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat.
  • Weight gain – Sleep apnea disrupts the sleep cycle, so your husband isn’t getting a good night’s sleep. The sleep deprivation disrupts the hormones that control appetite and leave him hungrier while also making him too exhausted to exercise.

sleep apnea

Sleep apnea treatment can improve the quality of sleep for both of you.

Sleep apnea treatment is easy. Convincing your husband to seek treatment will probably be harder. Mild cases of sleep apnea can be improved with lifestyle changes, like:

  • Losing weight
  • Sleeping on the side instead of the back
  • Quitting smoking
  • Propping up pillows to prevent rolling onto the back
  • Avoiding alcohol and eating before bedtime

For more serious cases, positive airway pressure (PAP) machines can help him breathe at night — but he’d have to wear a mask! Oxygen masks deliver a constant stream of airflow from the PAP machine. Nasal masks are less bulky if your husband is concerned about wearing a full face mask all night. With either mask, he’ll get used to it after a few nights and appreciate how much better sleep he’s getting.

You will too.

PAP machines get rid of sleep apnea symptoms, so you won’t have to lie awake listening to your husband snoring, choke or fighting for air. You will have to cope with some soft humming from the PAP machine. But most partners think it sounds more like the noise machine in the baby’s room.

Middle-aged men are the biggest sufferers of sleep apnea. However, not all snorers have the sleep disorder. If, in addition to sawing logs, your husband gasps for air all night, wakes up with headaches, feels sleepy all day, suffers from mood swings or bouts of forgetfulness, those are bigger signals of a sleep disorder.

Talk to your primary care provider about scheduling a sleep study to get to the root of his snoring so you both can catch some Zs.

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sleep apnea

1 COMMENT

  1. My husband snores very loudly at night. Along with him I also suffer from light sleep at night. When we were searching for solution we came across cpap mask reviews. Then he started using it, and finally I got relief. Thanks for sharing the sleep apnea related health issues. I will take care of him accordingly. He has gain some weight in few months. I will suggest him to join gym.

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