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Snoring

10 Side Effects of Snoring on Your Health

April 28, 2018

6 minutes

Reviewed by Michael Kaplan, MD

Everyone can agree that snoring is annoying, but did you know that the side effects of snoring can create havoc for your health? No matter the cause of your snoring: allergies, or the need for deviated septum relief, the ill effects of snoring on your health can go way beyond being elbowed or kicked by your spouse.

But why exactly is snoring bad for you? If you or a loved one suffers from chronic snoring, make sure you to familiarize yourself with the following side effects of snoring, as well as reasons behind snoring and snoring health risks.

1. Gasping, choking, and interrupted breathing

Perhaps the most obvious, but nevertheless scary side effects of snoring is the gasping, choking and interrupted breathing that can accompany it. If you experience or your partner witnesses you experiencing frequent interruptions in breathing that lasts more than 10 seconds, you may have a sleep disorder called sleep apnea. Not only is sleep apnea unpleasant and alarming, it can also create additional negative snoring effects on your health. You should work with your doctor to seek treatment.

2. Sleep disturbances

Snoring and/or sleep apnea can keep you from sleeping soundly. While you might think that these side effects of snoring may be obvious, many people do not realize that their snoring may cause them to wake up, disrupting their all-important sleep cycles. For some, their sleep disorder or snoring may not wake them, but simply keep them in a state of light sleep instead of letting them enter the restorative deep sleep that they and their bodies need.

3. Daytime sleepiness and injury

This side effect of snoring is closely related to the one previous. Sleep disturbances are going to keep you from getting a restful night’s sleep, which in turn causes you to be tired the next day. A little drowsiness may not seem like a big deal. However, it can affect not only your health, your work performance, or if you’re young, your ability to focus and succeed in school. Fatigue can have more dire consequences: driving or operating machinery while fatigue has been likened to driving while intoxicated, and can result in injury or even death.

4. Chronic Headaches

If you wake up in the morning with a headache more often than not (and haven’t been out on the town) it’s possible that one side effect of your snoring is chronic headaches. For some snorers, these headaches are caused by stress or lack of sleep. Others may be caused by hypertension or inconsistent levels of oxygen in the bloodstream.

5. Partner problems

Nobody wants to disturb the sleep of their loved ones with jackhammer-like snoring, but it remains one of the most common side effects of snoring. We may joke about it our partners’ snoring, but one survey showed that almost 80% of women had given their husbands bruises when trying to stop them from snoring. People with partners who snore can have some of the same snoring symptoms as their partners due to sleep disturbances.

6. Arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm)

Unfortunately, snoring effects on your health can be quite serious. The dangerous side effects of snoring include arrhythmia, which occurs when a heart’s normal rhythm becomes too fast, slow, or is irregular. Arrhythmias are common and can occur even if you’re not a chronic snorer, but the combination of abnormal heart rhythm and interrupted breathing or sleep apnea can be dangerous.

7. Heart Disease

Is snoring a sign of heart problems? Unfortunately, the answer can be yes. The effects of snoring on the health of your heart can include heart disease. In fact, studies have shown that chronic snorers and individuals with sleep apnea are twice as likely to have heart disease than people who do not snore. With proper treatment of snoring, however, you can drastically reduce the likelihood of having a heart attack.

8. GERD

Other side effects of snoring can be uncomfortable and seemingly unrelated at first glance. However, GERD, or gastro esophageal reflux disease, occurs when stomach acids find its way back into the esophagus. Changes in air pressure caused by a person’s long-term snoring (and the irregular way their throat opens and closes) can either cause or exacerbate GERD. It has been noted that weight loss can help improve both sleep apnea and GERD.

9. Stroke

Some snoring effects on your health can be less obvious on a daily basis. Snoring, particularly loud snoring, has been linked to a narrowing of the neck arteries called carotid atherosclerosis, which in turn increases your chances of having a stroke. This side effect is one of the more extreme side effects of snoring. So if you’re snoring like a buzzsaw, it might be a good time to start considering treatment.

10. Mental health issues

Not all side effects of snoring are physical. Lack of sleep and sleep disturbances are shown to increase the likelihood that someone will have depression and anxiety. Since lack of sleep and sleep disturbances are also both side effects of snoring and sleep apnea, it is perhaps not surprising that snoring and poor mental health might be linked. That said, the relationship between snoring and depression is still being explored.

How can I stop my snoring?

The way a body reacts to snoring and sleep apnea varies from individual to individual. Some are lucky and don’t have to deal with any of the aforementioned side effects of snoring, but others may have to contend with one or many side effects. No matter what side effects of snoring you’re experiencing, seeking chronic snoring treatment may provide much-needed relief (even if it’s just for your partner).

Balloon sinuplasty is an effective and simple treatment that can reduce chronic snoring. Minimally invasive and virtually painless, balloon sinuplasty is a quick, in-office procedure where sinus doctor, Dr. Kaplan, inserts and inflates of a small balloon within your sinus passageways.

If you’re struggling with snoring and the side effects of snoring, balloon sinuplasty at Kaplan Sinus Relief may be the right treatment to help you get relief. Schedule an appointment today, and get started finding relief.

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