Do you snore?

If you sleep with a partner, you’ve probably been told. But if you live alone, you may snore and never know it. Snoring isn’t limited to just one segment of the population. Men and women of all ages and ethnicities are prone to snoring. To help you better understand these numbers, Central California Sleep Center in Fresno has compiled a list of snoring-related statistics*:

• Approximately 30 percent of all adults age 30 and over are regular snorers. That number increases to 40 percent for people over 40.

• Women who snore regularly are significantly heavier and shorter in height than those who do not snore. These women are also more likely to have nasal issues that can cause snoring.

• Men snore more often than women, generally at a rate of two to one. However, this gap decreases significantly in post-menopausal women.

• Nearly 6 percent of children are habitual snorers.

• Approximately two-thirds of adults with sleeping partners report that their partner is a snorer. Six out of 10 people believe they snore at night.

• About 4 percent of all women and 9 percent of all men between the ages of 30 and 60 suffer from sleep apnea.

• Studies indicate that sleep apnea may affect between 20 to 40 percent of the snoring population.

• Between 1 and 10 percent of children have health issues related to sleep apnea.

• People who sleep in the same bed as a partner who suffers from sleep apnea lose about one hour of sleep each night. One study showed that these partners could wake up as much as 21 times per hour. This interrupted sleep is also known as “Spousal Arousal Syndrome”.

• Sleep apnea sufferers are six times more likely to be involved in a car accident than someone without a sleep disorder. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that tired drivers cause 100,000 car accidents and 1,550 fatalities each year.

Central California Sleep Center

Many people snore occasionally. To some, it’s just a minor nuisance. But loud, frequent snoring can severely affect both the amount of sleep you get and the quality of sleep you experience. If you go through the day tired, lethargic, and unable to concentrate, nighttime snoring may be the culprit.

Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to help curb snoring. Central California Sleep Center of Fresno offers these 11 tips to help you stop snoring—improving your health, your productivity, your relationships, and your sleep.

Sleep on a schedule

Establish a regular nighttime sleeping ritual is key to getting a good night’s rest. Go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends. By doing so, your body will establish a regular sleep-wake cycle; enabling you to get the rest you need while minimizing snoring.

Lose weight

Carrying around extra weight is a major cause of snoring. Fatty tissue can build up around the throat and neck, obstructing your airways during sleep. Check your body mass index to determine your target weight.

Avoid alcohol and sedatives

Drinking, especially before bed, relaxes the throat muscles, obstructing airflow during sleep. Sleeping pills and certain sedatives can have the same effect. Talk to your doctor about your prescription drugs, as some may be a cause of snoring.

Exercise

Exercising regularly helps develop muscle tone throughout your body, including in your throat. By strengthening these muscles, they are less likely to relax and impede breathing during sleep.

Quit smoking

Smoking can cause many health problems, snoring being one of them. Smoking irritates the membranes in the nose and throat, causing airway blockage during sleep.

Clear nasal passages

Going to bed with a stuffy nose is almost certainly a recipe for snoring. Before you go to sleep, take a nasal decongestant or wear a nasal strip throughout the night to reduce the risk of snoring.

Get off your back

Sleeping on your side or abdomen is a great way to reduce snoring. When you sleep on your back, the force of gravity can make your tongue and throat tissues fall back, obstructing your airway.

Watch what you eat before bed.

Heavy meals, caffeine, and dairy products can interfere with your sleep and cause snoring. Avoid consuming caffeine or large meals within two hours of bedtime.

Use a Humidifier

Breathing dry air in the bedroom can irritate the throat, resulting in snoring. Use a humidifier regularly to moisten the air a bit.

Elevate your head

Something as simple as using a bigger pillow can also help stop snoring. Elevating your head by as little as a few inches can improve airflow by repositioning your tongue and jaw. There are several specially designed pillows on the market designed to reduce snoring while ensuring comfort during sleep.

Call Central California Sleep Center

Habitual snoring may be a sign of a serious underlying medical condition known as obstructive sleep apnea. Though it is one of the most under-diagnosed of all sleep disorders, it is also one of the most treatable.

Central California Sleep Center’s Dr. Weldon Schapansky can help. In partnership with your physician, psychologist, or sleep therapist, Dr. Schapansky can provide a life-changing oral appliance therapy (O.A.T.), one of the newest, non-surgical treatments of snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (O.S.A.).

Stop snoring forever. Get better sleep for a better life. Contact Central California Sleep Center and request a consultation today.

Central California Sleep Center

Tired of being tired?

If you’re a habitual snorer who wakes up feeling drowsy, irritable, and unable to concentrate, you may be suffering from a serious health condition known as obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. A simple sleep test will help us diagnose your sleep apnea.

This common, yet massively under-diagnosed problem affects roughly 18 million Americans. Along with severely affecting your ability to function on a daily basis, untreated OSA has been linked to serious health problems such as obesity, heart attack, stroke, asthma, depression, high blood pressure and even car accidents.

The good news?

Sleep apnea is easily diagnosed (with a sleep test) and highly treatable. Central California Sleep Center of Fresno offers a variety of treatment options to end snoring forever—giving you a lifetime of better sleep.

Getting evaluated for snoring problems is simple, with our sleep test. If you believe you may have sleep apnea, the first step is to request a consultation with Dr. Schapansky at Central California Sleep Center. During your visit, Dr. Schapansky will discuss your symptoms with you and also ask several background questions regarding your sleep habits, lifestyle and family history. He’ll also perform a brief examination of your throat, mouth and nose.

If Dr. Schapansky suspects that you have OSA, he will send you home with a special sleep-monitoring device that comfortably fits around your wrist. As you sleep, the device will record your critical sleep data, allowing Dr. Schapansky to better treat your sleep issues. After the results of the sleep test are reviewed and a diagnosis is made, Dr. Schapansky will discuss the treatment options available to you.

It’s as simple as that. The end of snoring could be just a click away. Contact Central California Sleep Center today and take the first step towards a lifetime of better sleep.

Central California Sleep Center

The Five Most Common Causes of Snoring

Snoring. Many of us do it, whether we know it or not. In fact, studies show that about 45 percent of all adults snore on occasion, and 25 percent snore habitually. Ever wonder why? There are a multitude of reasons why many of us “saw logs” in our sleep, and Central California Sleep Center in Fresno has put together a list of the five most common causes of snoring.

1.      Mouth Anatomy

Many people snore as a result of their physical makeup. People with a long soft palate or uvula (the dangling tissue in the back of the mouth) or those with enlarged tonsils or tissue in the back of their throats are more likely to snore. As the muscles inside the mouth and throat relax, airflow is partially blocked, causing these structures to noisily vibrate against each other.

 2.      Nasal Problems

Congested nasal airways caused by a cold or allergies can also cause snoring. When the nasal passage is partially blocked, it restricts the passage of air during sleep. As the body works to get the air it needs, the soft tissues inside the mouth rub together, resulting in snoring.

 3.      Body Weight

Losing weight is always a good idea for your overall health, but dropping a few pounds can also reduce or eliminate snoring. Fat can build up around the throat,narrowing your airway during sleep, causing you to snore.

 4.      Alcohol Consumption

Drinking too much alcohol is another common cause of snoring. Alcohol relaxes your throat muscles during sleep, obstructing your airway. Prescription drugs such as sleeping pills can have the same effect.

 5.      Sleep Apnea

In most cases, occasional snoring is more of an annoyance to your partner than anything else. However, habitual snorers may have what is known as obstructive sleep apnea—a serious condition. Sleep apnea causes the throat tissues to completely block your airway, preventing you from breathing for 10 seconds or longer.

There’s More To It Then Just Snoring…

Sleep apnea is often characterized by extremely loud snoring followed by brief periods of silence due to an interruption in the breathing process. The silence is  often followed by gasps or snorts as the person fights to take a breath. These disruptions in breathing cause the person to wake up periodically through the night. The next day, the person is extremely tired, exhibiting such signs as irritability, fatigue, lethargy, a reduced ability to concentrate, and morning headaches.

But obstructive sleep apnea doesn’t just rob you of your sleep. It can cause serious medical conditions as well. If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, thickening of the heart muscle (ventricular hypertrophy), and a potentially fatal irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). In fact, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people per year die due to untreated obstructive sleep apnea.

Excessive snoring is not something to be taken lightly. If you believe you or a loved one may suffer from sleep apnea, please contact the Central California Sleep Center today.

Central California Sleep Center

What is Snoring?

Talk about a rude awakening. You’re enjoying a good night’s sleep when suddenly you’re jarred awake by the intolerable sounds of snoring. But snoring can be much more than just a mild annoyance; it could be a symptom of a serious medical condition called obstructive sleep apnea. In order to help you or a loved one with this condition, it’s important to understand what it is and what causes it. With this in mind, Central California Sleep Center in Fresno has put together a series of educational articles to help residents of Fresno and Clovis get a better night’s rest.

Snoring Defined

Snoring is the caused by an obstruction of the airways during sleep. Vibrations of the tissue within the soft palate cause the deep, guttural rattling sounds associated with this condition.

Types of Snoring

All snorers have what is called “incomplete obstruction” of the upper airway. As you enter deep sleep, the tissues around your airway relax, partially blocking the flow of air. As you breathe in and out, these tissues rattle, causing the sounds of snoring.

• Mild Snorers:
  Mild snorers who sometimes exhibit noisy breathing during sleep and continuous or rhythmical snoring experience what is known as primary snoring, or simple snoring. These snorers do not experience a long pause in breathing during sleep, also known as apnea.

• Severe Snorers:
  More severe snorers often experience “complete obstruction” during sleep. This occurs when the upper airway is completely blocked for 10 seconds or longer.  These periods of silence are often followed by gasps or snorts as the person fights to take a breath. Individuals who experience complete obstruction on a regular basis, or those who snore so loudly that they disturb others, almost certainly have what is known as obstructive sleep apnea.

Consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

People who suffer from chronic obstructive sleep apnea rarely get a full night’s rest. Disruptions in breathing cause the person to wake up periodically throughout the night. The next day, the person is extremely tired, exhibiting such signs as irritability, fatigue, lethargy, a reduced ability to concentrate, and morning headaches.

But obstructive sleep apnea doesn’t just rob you of your sleep. It can cause serious medical conditions as well. If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, thickening of the heart muscle (ventricular hypertrophy), and a potentially fatal irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). In fact, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people per year die due to untreated obstructive sleep apnea.

Excessive snoring is not something to be taken lightly. If you believe you or a loved one may suffer from sleep apnea, please contact the Central California Sleep Center today.

Central California Sleep Center

Dr. Weldon Schapansky is Fresno’s premier Sleep Apnea Dentist with over 30 years experience in dentistry.
You can visit the Central California Sleep Center in Fresno to find help for Sleep Apnea, Snoring and other sleep related disorders.

Dr. Schpansky specializes in Oral Appliance Therapy in helping treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring.
Call 559-57-SNORE today to make an appointment to help you get Better Sleep for a Better Life!

Central California Sleep Center