Caroline Russock, PhillyVoice Contributor, published an article last Thursday on the Surefire solutions to get your partner to stop snoring.

In the article, Dr. Don Sesso discusses the many treatment options to curtail or eliminate snoring, from changing sleeping positions to using body wedge pillows and mouthguards to outpatient and inpatient surgery.

Others quoted in the article vary their treatments with Chinese medicine, customized herb blends and acupuncture as well as chiropractic that focuses on the mind-body connection.

Dr. Donald M. Sesso, D.O. FAOCO is the only fellowship-trained sleep surgeon in the Tri-State area and one of an elite group of six surgeons in the United States with triple certification in the treatment of sleep apnea.

Snoring can cause sleepy days, morning headaches, and irritability. It can make it difficult for you to concentrate and can disrupt your sleep, and that of the people who sleep next to you. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that 90 million American adults snore, 37 million of them on a regular basis. About 40% of adult men and 24% of adult women are habitual snorers. Believe it or not, snoring appears to run in families, and it becomes more common as you get older.

If you sleep with someone who snores, you know all too well what it is and what it sounds like. But what causes snoring, can it be treated, and do any of those “anti-snoring devices” on the market actually work?

Blame a “floppy” throat:
When you sleep, everything relaxes including the muscles of your throat and your tongue. Your throat becomes narrow and “floppy” and, as you breathe, the walls of your throat vibrate, causing that harrowing snoring sound. The narrower the airway becomes, the greater the vibration and the louder the snoring.

Sleeping on your back may make you more likely to snore. If your throat muscles are hyper-relaxed from the use of alcohol or other depressants, snoring will worsen. Congestion from a cold or allergies can also cause snoring.

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By Donald M. Sesso, D.O.

Sleeping with a snorer can take a toll on your health. While the health risks of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring are widely discussed, less is understood regarding the consequences of sleeping with a snorer. According to the National Sleep Foundation, snoring affects 90 million adults, 37 million of them on a regular basis. Men are twice as likely as women to snore; however, that gap closes after menopause. Untreated OSA and snoring may pose serious health problems and can negatively impact one’s quality of life. OSA has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety and death. Sleep-deprived people are subject to a higher risk of accidents, poor concentration, impaired work performance and strained interpersonal relationships. More recent research has shown that the bed-partners of snorers may have health risks as well. Thus, the number of patients and their bed-partners affected by snoring is staggering and poses a serious public health risk.

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By Todd C. Morehouse, D.O.

Tossing. Turning. Pillow over your head. Wishing you could get back to sleep, but that noise has been keeping you awake for hours. At some point in our lives, we have all experienced the effects of “second hand” snoring. Perhaps your spouse snores, or a travel mate on a trip made you tired for the big meeting the next day.

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