Is your snoring habit killing you?

Is a loved one’s snoring habit keeping you up at night (or are you keeping them up with your snoring)? Don’t be so quick to ignore it. A recent study by the University of Wisconsin found that people with untreated sleep apnea (a condition characterized by episodes of stopped breathing during sleep) are at THREE TIMES greater risk of dying from ANY cause than those without the condition. These are alarming results, as sleep apnea affects more than 18 million Americans, and many more that aren’t even aware they have the disorder. Many of those affected, AND their doctors, often overlook the seriousness of the symptoms being exhibited.

As if that news wasn’t striking enough, researchers also found that the more pauses in breathing during sleep, the greater the risk was for death. People who had 30 or more pauses in breathing each hour they were asleep, compared to those with five or fewer, were found to be five times more likely to die of heart-related causes.

This study is hard, scientific proof that people MUST start taking their snoring habits (and other sleep problems) seriously. Snoring, a common symptom of sleep apnea, is often the cornerstone of jokes between friends – “My husband snores so loud he could wake the dead,” etc., but the reality is, that habit most couples view as “annoying and inconvenient” can actually be deadly, as evidenced by the University of Wisconsin study. It can also lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain, mood swings, and memory problems, just to name a few.

The results of this study are alarming, but what many don’t realize is that it is incredibly easy to address the symptoms of sleep apnea. A simple, non-invasive overnight sleep study can help your doctors to determine if you suffer from the disorder, and treatment is often very simple – most sleep apnea patients are given a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine to use while they sleep at night. This machine ensures that the patient’s breathing is uninterrupted while they sleep, significantly lowering their health risks. That’s right, no surgery or medication is required -that is, if you’re diligent and take the steps to determine if you’re suffering from this silent killer before it wreaks havoc on the rest of your body.