Is snoring harmless? This is a myth many people believe and is in fact, not true. Snoring can definitely harm your health, mostly because it’s an indicator of something else going on in your body. However, there are a few instances where snoring does not harm your health. Before you write off your occurrence of snoring altogether, learn when snoring is harmless and when it is harmful and how it affects your health. The Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center in Omaha can treat your snoring for good.
There are a few different occasions when snoring is actually harmless to your health. For instance, if you snore after enjoying an alcoholic beverage before bed, this isn’t anything to raise a concern over. Snoring is also harmless if it’s due to a stuffy nose from being sick or from allergies.
If you experience an abnormal structure of your throat or nose such as enlarged tonsils or a deviated septum, these can also cause snoring. These conditions lead to narrower passageways for air to flow through your throat and result in snoring as a harmless side effect. Sleeping on your back is also a common cause of snoring.
Although snoring is loud to sleeping partners, you shouldn’t always raise a concern immediately. If it becomes a daily occurrence, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about treatment for your snoring. It may include wearing an oral appliance at night or having surgery to correct your enlarged tonsils or a deviated septum. It’s important to know that this snoring can become harmful if you experience any other symptoms.
If you experience snoring with any of the following symptoms, it’s a good indicator that your snoring is no longer harmless and is now harmful.
- Morning headaches
- Chest pain at night
- High blood pressure
- Recent weight gain
- Excessive drowsiness during the day
- Not feeling rested upon waking
- Decreased memory
- Inability to concentrate
- Waking up choking or gasping for breath
If any of those symptoms have presented themselves, it’s possible that you have sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder that disrupts your breathing throughout the night due to a collapsed airway. If you have sleep apnea and leave it untreated, it can lead to heart problems such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and heart disease. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, please visit us so we can guide you to a sleep test. We can often send one home with you at your first appointment! From there, we can talk to you about an appropriate and effective treatment option.
If you want to stop snoring or treat your sleep apnea, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Roubal at Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center by calling (402) 493-4175.