The A to Zzzzzs of Snoring

On the surface, snoring can be amusing.

Sawing wood. Snoring like a freight train. Calling the hogs. You’ve heard the euphemisms and jokes.

But snoring is not funny. It can be a serious health problem and can adversely affect your marriage, relationships and sex life. Snoring is even listed as the third-leading cause for divorce in the United States, trailing only infidelity and financial problems.  

Snoring can cause sleep loss for both the snorer and partner. This leads to irritability, moodiness, tension, slows down cognitive skills and can impair reasoning and decision-making. The National Sleep Foundation reports that marriage discontent and relationship dissatisfaction can be attributed to sleep deprivation.

The problem gets worse when the snoring is so bad that it causes couples to separate to get a good night’s sleep. Data from FiveThirtyEight.com, the statistical analysis website, did research and found that 14 percent of respondents sleep apart. Of those, 46 percent cited snoring as the reason they did not sleep together.   

The snoring causes partners to lose intimacy and the comfort of sleeping in the same bed together. They may lose that special bonding time where couples talk, plan, make decisions, solve problems and deal with issues of the day. This is an important time that is often not made up in the course of a busy and hectic lifestyle. 

Snoring is no laughing matter. According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, snoring may be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. Find out the cause for snoring and get help. BayCare offers diagnosis and treatment for snoring through sleep disorder and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services and physicians. Services also include overnight sleep studies in a sleep center.

There are many nonsurgical, in-office and minimally invasive snoring treatments. Visit a health care provider and find out what might work for you.

Don’t let snoring kick you to the couch.