What are the Health Risks of Snoring?

Many people make a jokes about snoring, but there is a growing amount of evidence that indicates that snoring can lead to a number of serious health problems.

Researchers have found that snoring is many times associated with declining intelligence skills. Snorers tend to have poorer recall, verbal skills and general cognitive abilities.

The problem seems to stem from lower amounts of oxygen getting to the brain when snorers stop breathing for short periods of time during their sleep. You may have heard of this referred to as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is sometimes difficult to detect since it can many times go unnoticed. The two ways that people usually find out that they are snoring are if they are told so by someone else in their residence or if they wake themselves up from their own snoring. It is even possible that sleep apnea can cause brain damage.

Some successful, but simple methods of dealing with snoring are:

1. Sleeping on your side instead of your back.

2. To lose any excessive weight, since being overweight can contribute significantly to a snoring problem.

3. You may want to try Breathe Right Strips

4. Another inexpensive option is Z Quiet

If the snoring continues to be a problem, check with your doctor about obtaining a sleep monitor to see if you do have sleep apnea. Your doctor may even suggest that you get a CPAP machine or send you for an overnight sleep apnea test.

There is also the possibility of some type of throat obstruction, which may require minor surgery.

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