Are Snoring And Sleep Apnea Related?

Whether we want to admit it or not, nearly half of us - about 45% - snore sometimes, and about one in four snore almost every time we sleep.

Snoring can be bothersome to your partner, but for some people, snoring can be a serious health concern. Snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a common medical condition that causes people to stop breathing when they sleep.

Is the sound of snoring disrupting sleep in your household? Find out causes and treatment options for this common problem. Learn about common causes of snoring, the link between snoring and sleep apnea, and treatments for snoring from a Franciscan Health pulmonologist.

Key Takeaways: Snoring And Sleep Apnea

• Many people snore. In some people, snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea.
• It’s possible to have sleep apnea without snoring.
• Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes you to stop breathing in your sleep.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes you to stop breathing in your sleep.

If you have sleep apnea, you might stop breathing multiple times a night, from 10 seconds to a minute or more at a time. People with mild sleep apnea typically experience five to 14 hypopnea (decreased airflow) events per hour of sleep, while those with severe sleep apnea can have 30 or more events per hour.

If you have sleep apnea, your snores will likely sound like loud bursts, followed by silence lasting 10 seconds or more. Then, you’ll likely make a sudden gasp and snort or choke as your brain senses low oxygen levels and signals for your body to breathe. This pattern typically repeats throughout the night.

However, not all people with sleep apnea snore. “You can have sleep apnea without snoring, or you could have snoring without sleep apnea. They're independent,” explained Tapan Desai, MD, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist with Franciscan Physician Network Munster Medical Center.

Risk factors for sleep apnea

Anyone can develop sleep apnea, though males are more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than women. Even children can develop sleep apnea, but the risk of diagnosis increases as you age. Additional common risk factors of sleep apnea include:

• Family history of the condition
• Large tonsils, neck or tongue
• Obesity
• Use of alcohol or cigarettes

Signs of sleep apnea

Studies suggest sleep apnea affects as many as one in five adults. People with sleep apnea typically have at least two of the following key signs:

• A neck size greater than 17 inches in circumference
• Apneic (breathing cessation) episodes witnessed by a sleep partner
• Consistent, loud snoring
• High blood pressure

"If you have at least two of those indicators, that's a high predictor for having sleep apnea,” Dr. Desai said.

Is Snoring A Sign Of Sleep Apnea?

Roughly 45 percent of adults snore sometimes, and about 25 percent snore every time they sleep.

Common causes of snoring

Not all snoring links to sleep apnea. Snoring occurs when the vibrations of soft tissues in the upper airway cause noisy breathing. It happens when the muscles of the throat and tongue relax and narrow your breathing airway as you sleep.

You might be more likely to snore if you:

• Are overweight
• Are pregnant
• Have physical traits that lead to increased snoring, including swollen tonsils or adenoids or a deviated (off-center) septum, the structure that separates the nostrils
• Smoke or drink alcohol
• Suffer from sinus or nasal congestion
• Use antihistamines or sleeping pills

Snoring and sleep apnea

While potentially bothersome to a sleeping partner, snoring itself does not cause health problems. However, loud snoring can be a sign that you may have obstructive sleep apnea, a serious health concern.

Not all snoring is a cause for concern.

"Snoring is not an indicator of sleep apnea. Snoring is just vibration of air flow," Dr. Desai said. "People think, 'I got sleep apnea when I snore.' That's not necessarily true.

Health effects of sleep apnea

Because sleep apnea interrupts your sleep, it can have profound effects on your energy levels and overall health. Many people with sleep apnea feel sleepy during the day — increasing the risk for accidents while driving or using machinery.

Some studies have also linked sleep apnea to an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and type 2 diabetes.

To limit these negative health effects, you should seek treatment for sleep apnea if you feel you may have the condition.

Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea

If you have snoring accompanied by breathing stoppages plus you gasp or choke in your sleep, you should ask your doctor if you might have sleep apnea.

Your provider will likely order an overnight sleep test to measure your heart rate, breathing patterns and blood oxygen levels as you sleep. These tests can establish whether or not you experience breathing stoppages during the night — and if so, at what rate.

If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, you’ll have many treatment options to consider. These include:

• Make lifestyle changes to lower your risk of apneic episodes, including stopping smoking and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, a breathing device that keeps airways open with a steady flow of pressurized air.
• Use a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device to strengthen and tone muscles of the upper airway and help keep them open.
• Wear an oral appliance to improve airway flow.
• Take medications.
• Undergo surgery to reduce airway blockages.
• Use a new, FDA-approved, mask-free surgical implant that stimulates the upper airway.

When you treat your sleep apnea, you reduce your risk of long-term health complications and improve your immediate feelings of rest and well-being.

How Can I Help My Snoring?

Your provider may suggest that you make some lifestyle changes as a start. Lifestyle changes that can help your snoring include:

• Weight loss
• Nasal congestion treatments
• Consistent sleep schedules
• Avoid lying on your back
• Avoid alcohol before bed

Is There A Treatment For Snoring?

Aside from lifestyle changes, there are also devices, services and procedures to treat your snoring. Even though snoring may not pose any physical risks, treatments are available for those troublesome nighttime airway noises. such as:

• Sleep study or polysomnography: tests designed to diagnose sleep disorders by recording brain waves, heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen and movement throughout your legs and eyes while you sleep.
• Oral appliances: adjusts areas of your mouth, including your tongue, jaw and soft palate to maintain an opening in your air passage.
• CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure: a mask designed to hold open your airways with pressurized air through a mask.
• Upper airway surgeries: multiple surgery options that keep the upper airway open while you sleep.

With a discussion on sleep apnea with your provider and several options to treat snoring, you can return to comfortable and confident sleeping patterns.

“Improved sleep has multiple influences on our health,” Dr. Desai said. “Sleep affects our memory, mood regulation, cognitive performance and immune system function. It also helps our heart health, reduces cortisol levels and supports a healthy metabolism.”