It’s hard to deny that living with a snorer can be challenging, especially if that person is someone you share a room or bed with. But the consequences of passive snoring were discovered recently and go far beyond a simple annoyance.
We care about your well-being, and here’s everything you need to know about the health risks of living with a snorer:
Sleeping With a Snorer: What Can You Do?
Insufficient Sleep
This seems to be the most obvious consequence, but lack of sleep leads to health problems that we often don’t take seriously. Both the snorer and those who live with them can lose many hours of sleep, vital for the body to recover and fulfill biological functions, such as the consolidation of memory and the regulation of metabolism.
It’s not just about getting enough sleep, it’s about continual sleep. Spouses of people with sleep apnea tend to wake up almost as often as they do, preventing all phases of sleep from completing and further damaging the biological mechanisms involved in this process.
Also, a person who doesn’t get enough rest is likely to make more mistakes, think slowly and decrease their productivity. Another problem associated with this is constant irritability, which can affect your relationships.
However, lack of sleep has also been found to be a risk factor for anxiety and depression. And, in addition to its psychological consequences, it also increases the chances of developing obesity or suffering a stroke.
Relationship Problems
The fact that your partner’s snoring is keeping you from sleeping can slowly erode the relationship. Hearing someone snoring next to you every night and having to wake them up to stop them from making noise will only annoy them.
Many even choose to sleep separately or divorce after trying earplugs or headphones to reduce noise, without success.
We have already talked about some consequences of not sleeping well, but if it is caused by your partner or a family member, they become the main reason for your bad mood and the main target of your anger.
These conflicts negatively affect your health since it has been proven that a negative environment at home can cause stress, inflammation, and appetite alterations. The immune system is also weakened by constant arguments.
Hearing Loss
A study from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, tried to evaluate the effects of snoring on both snorers and their spouses. They selected 4 couples aged between 35 and 55 years, in which one member had severe sleep apnea.
The conclusion reached was that the sound effect of snoring did not affect snoring as much. This is because the brain dampens the interruptions of breathing during sleep.
But 100% of their partners suffered the consequences, especially in the ear that was exposed to snoring. The effect was equivalent to sleeping 15 years with an industrial machine.
Hypertension
Loud noises not only affect hearing but can also raise blood pressure to risk levels, especially for other ailments, according to research from the Imperial College of Science in London, which evaluated the stress of people living near various European airports.
Their results determined that the higher the noise volume, the higher the risk of hypertension. They noted that the body always reacted in the same way, regardless of whether the patient woke up to the noise or not.
They also found that these results could carry over to any sound over 35 decibels, so people exposed to snoring were also at risk, as they could reach 80 decibels. Hypertension can lead to other diseases such as kidney problems, dementia, and heart disease.
Dangers Of Second-hand Snoring
These are some of the possible direct and indirect consequences of sleeping near a person who snores:
- Sleep deprivation and poor quality of sleep
- Irritability
- Daytime sleepiness
- Loss of concentration and memory
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Weakness of the immune system
- Obesity
- Heart failure
- Dementia
- Hearing loss
- Hypertension
- Renal problems
- Stroke
How To Prevent These Problems
Sleeping with a snorer is an ordeal, especially when you’ve tried everything to make your nights more bearable. If the headphones and earplugs no longer work, you can (if possible) sleep in another room and be with your partner at times that do not affect your rest.
A smart snoring buddy cushion is being developed that will cancel snoring noise with equal and opposite sound frequency. However, it has not yet been released, so this is a solution that you will only be able to use in the future.
You can also take a look at these tips for anyone who wants to stop snoring. They can be helpful in restoring harmony and, most importantly, health in your home.
Have you ever slept with a snorer? How did you handle it? Tell us about your experience and share this article with your family and friends.
Preview photo credit Mike & Molly / Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
