Weekly Focus

Snoring can be dangerous

Snoring affects half of middle aged men and plenty of middle aged women and as a result, millions of partners suffer sleep disturbances.

Snorers may suffer from OSA - obstructive sleep apnoea - which means you actually stop breathing for a short time many times during the night and this leads to oxygen deprivation. The result?  Tiredness, restlessness and more prone to accidents. Long term, a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

There are various remedies available, so if your partner is hounding you to see about it - then see about it!  If you are told you are a snorer (you are usually unaware of this yourself) there are a few tricks to try first up -

• Keep your weight under control
• Avoid too much alcohol
• Avoid sleeping tablets
• Get that old broken nosed fixed
• Give up smoking
• Sleep on your side, not back
• Raise the head of the bed slightly
• Keep your nasal passage clear.

If this doesn’t solve the problem - the next step is a Doctor’s appointment.