SNORING SOLUTION
Snoring is Affecting My Relationship – Why and What to Do
“Snoring is affecting my relationship” is one of the top complaints we hear from patients that are desperate to improve their snoring to please their bed partner. Snoring might seem like a trivial problem, but it can negatively impact relationships.
Just think. After a long day of work, your partner is ready to slide into the sheets and get some rest. Instead, their mate’s loud snoring often keeps them up at night. Whether you’re a snorer or your partner snores, you can understand how it can take to a relationship.
"Snoring Is Affecting My Relationship" – How It Happens
Believe it or not, a study conducted amongst 2,000 married couples in the United Kingdom in 2019 found that approximately 12% of the couples cited that snoring was one of the problems that contributed to the downfall of their relationship. About 18% revealed that they regularly argued about snoring, while 30% admitted that they had to resort to sleeping in separate rooms.
Loud snoring ultimately results in sleep deprivation. If your partner isn’t getting enough shut-eye, the lack of sleep will eventually affect their health and ability to focus, bringing down their mood. Several studies have shown that people are more short-tempered and cranky when they don’t get adequate sleep.
Before you know it, negative emotions like resentment and tension begin to creep up in marriage, slowly tearing it apart. Sleeping in separate bedrooms can affect the physical and emotional intimacy between you and your mate. This sometimes leads to a sleep divorce.
What Causes Snoring?
We get it. Your partner’s snoring sounds like a freight train or a dying animal. Why does it occur? Snoring occurs when air fails to flow through your nose and throat, causing a snoring sound.
Snoring Is a Sign of a Serious Health Issue
Before long, you won’t just be wondering how “snoring is affecting my relationship” because it will eventually wreak havoc on your health. Frequent loud snoring is one of the main symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a severe sleeping disorder that causes an individual to stop and start breathing during their sleeping repeatedly.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition because the upper airways become blocked, causing airflow disruption or, in some cases, no airflow at all for about ten seconds. The reduced airflow lowers blood oxygen levels.
You’ll notice that snoring worsens with this sleeping disorder when the individual sleeps on their back. This is because a person with sleep apnea can wake out of their sleep at least fifty times in an hour! In these brief awakenings, the individual has enough time to restore muscle tone to the airway, allowing them to breathe normally.
If you believe that you or your partner may have obstructive sleep apnea, they may also suffer from:
- Excessive sleepiness during the daytime
- Night sweats
- Bad morning headaches
- Gasping for air while sleeping
- Mood swings
- Weight gain
- Mental confusion
Snoring Impacts the Overall Quality of Your Life
Sleep apnea, if ignored, won’t just disrupt your nightly slumber. It will ultimately affect your health, happiness, and the overall quality of your life. Several studies show that sleep apnea can make it difficult to complete normal daily activities causing feelings of unhappiness. In addition, research has shown that depression is common in OSA patients. Having depression can impact your relationship with family and friends.
In addition to poor sleep quality, when you don’t receive treatment for OSA, the likelihood of experiencing severe health complications like diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, and a stroke increases. In addition, memory problems caused by untreated sleep apnea can make it extremely difficult to concentrate, reducing reaction times and causing bouts of amnesia.