ANCSLEEP BLOG

When Snoring is a Personal Problem, Not Just a Nuisance

Is your or your partner’s snoring the primer for family jokes? Does your loud snoring come with an “earplugs required” caveat for your partner? Is your snoring the rule, not the exception?

Chronic, loud snoring may be a bigger personal problem than just a nuisance for other people who have to listen to your nightly nasally noises. In other words, while their sleep might be disrupted, your snoring might be caused by a medical condition called sleep apnea, which can have significant health consequences. Or, maybe you are just a loud, chronic snorer.

Knowing the difference and telltale signs between loud snoring and sleep apnea is important, as identifying the potential problem underlying your chronic snoring is the first step to getting healthy again.

Do you ever feel like you are getting the recommended amount of sleep, but still feel exhausted throughout the day? This is known as excessive daytime sleepiness, and it is the process of having some sort of nighttime disruption that reduces your sleep quality and quantity. Just because you are lying down with your eyes closed does not mean that you are getting the amount of deep sleep required to feel well-rested. If you continuously wake up feeling exhausted, and can't seem to garner any type of energy throughout the day, you may have an underlying sleep disorder of which you are unaware. Continue reading for common causes of sleep deprivation to determine if you need to speak with a doctor and get help. 

What is CPAP Therapy?

CPAP therapy is a treatment path that is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition and sleeping disorder that causes your throat muscles to relax, your airway to become obstructed by your tongue or tonsils, and you to stop breathing. This leads to many subsequent arousals throughout the night, referred to as an apnea event. 

Obstructive sleep apnea can be mild or severe:

• Mild OSA: 5-14 apneas per hour of sleep
• Moderate OSA: 15-30 apneas per hour of sleep
• Severe OSA: 30+ apneas per hour of sleep

When you stop breathing and rouse this much throughout the night (anywhere from 40 to hundreds of times throughout the night), the natural result is severe sleep deprivation. As a result, your life may be shorter, unhappier, and less performant than if you treated your sleep apnea.

This is why CPAP therapy is so important. In CPAP therapy, you use a CPAP machine to gently push air into your airway to keep it from collapsing, allowing you to continuously breathe while sleeping. 

When Snoring Becomes a Problem

Does your partner wear earplugs to block out your nightly snoring? Is your snoring the rule, not the exception? Does your family often make jokes about you and your snoring? 

How Much Sleep Do Children Need?

The amount of sleep babies and children need fluctuate from 17 hours for newborns to 9 hours for school-aged children [Baby Center]. A lack of sleep for children can significantly impact children's performance, both in school and in behavior.

For children with existing conditions that affect their learning, sleep problems further compound their inability to properly learn. 

How much sleep your child should be getting depends on how old they are. While every child is different, here is a rough estimate of how much sleep children should be getting based on age:

• Newbord: 16-17 hours day
• 1-12 months: 12-16 hours per day
• 1-2 years: 11-14 hours per day
• 3-5 years: 10-13 hours per day
• 6-12 years: 9-12 hours per day
• 13-18: 8 to 10 hours per day

The above numbers are total sleep hours, including naps.

What are Parasomnias?

A parasomnia is an abnormal (“para”) sleep (“somnia”) or sleep cycle (circadian rhythm). Parasomnias are considered disruptive sleep disorders that occur during sleep. The most common parasomnias are:

• Nightmares
• Night terrors
• Sleep walking
• Sleep talking
• Sleep paralysis

Parasomnias such as these can cause minor to severe sleep disruption. Let’s look at each of these parasomnias in more detail.

Have you ever witnessed your child or spouse's nightmare or night terror? It may have been just as scary for you as it was for them. The words "helpless" and "heartbreaking" are often used to describe these episodes. Being able to distinguish the difference between a nightmare and a night terror will help you better understand what is happening with your loved one and how you can help. Here are the differences between night terrors and nightmares.

What is Sleep Apnea in Children?

Sleep apnea is a medical condition where you stop breathing many times throughout the night and, in consequence, momentarily wake up to begin breathing again. Symptoms of sleep apnea in children are also the same as adults, though you might describe some of the symptoms more in child-like terms:

• Wake up throughout the night
• Loud snoring
• Excessive daytime tiredness
• Less  capable of managing anxiety and stress
• "Acting out"
• Chronic "fussiness"

For children some of their symptoms are very similar to those seen in adults:

• Decreased performance in nearly every area of life
• Increased stress, anxiety, and rates of depression
• Increased risk of numerous medical problems

Snoring is one of the most well-known symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The reason why so many sleep apnea sufferers snore is due to the tissues in the back of the throat relaxing and blocking the airway. When the airway becomes blocked, a vibration occurs and creates a sound known as snoring. Snoring can be influenced by a person's anatomy, weight, and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption.

However, with as many as 90 million Americans suffering from snoring, it may not always be a sign that an individual has OSA. To know whether or not you or your partner have obstructive sleep apnea, you must be aware of the other symptoms that happen with snoring and necessitates a diagnosis of sleep apnea.

Why Alaskan Winters Can Be Bad for Sleep

Much of the year in Alaska, we live in either the extreme darkness or extreme lightness. These extreme lighting conditions affect our lives psychologically, physiologically, habitually, emotionally, and sociologically.

Contrary to what you might think, the long darkness affects our lives in ways that aren’t conducive to sleep. Perhaps you suspect that you have developed a sleep disorder or your existing sleep disorder is worsening.

However, what may actually be happening is your sleep is distorted because of the difference in architecture of the day. This means that we have to work harder to maintain a normal sleep schedule in winter. The good news is that there are many tricks to you can use to help maintain a normal sleep schedule, though some people will need more direct intervention from sleep specialists or healthcare practitioners.