Snoring
Don’t confuse snoring with deep sleep! Snoring can disrupt your and your partner’s sleep, or it may be a sign of a serious sleep-related health problem!
Snoring
Snoring, or sleep apnea can be a warning of health concerns! Common symptoms include stop breathing during sleep which can last for several seconds or more than 10 seconds, lips turned blue or grey, awakened during sleep due to pause breathing, for example more than 30 sleep apnea during 7 hours of sleep and each apnea lasts for more than 10 seconds.
Normal breath during sleep should be slow, even, and steady without making a noise. If a sleep is accompanied with loud, intermittent and frequent snoring, it is a sign of an obstructed airway.
Causes
One of the reasons for snoring is an obstructed airway. Relaxed and sagging tissues, such as tongue and soft palate can narrow the nasal airway. When air flows past these relaxed tissues as you breathe, they vibrate and make noises. A narrower airway creates stronger vibration and hence a louder snore.
When part or all of the upper airway is blocked, little or no air can flow past the airway (it is like water can not run down a blocked pipe), causing low/no oxygen being transported in blood and to the brain. Our body will wake us up in this critical condition and urge for breathing. The gasping for air only occurs for a very short period of time that we don’t even remember and fall back to sleep. However, people with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) experience repeated episodes during one night of sleep.
Ageing, obesity, drinking, smoking, genetics and underlying health conditions are some of the conditions that may increase the risk of snoring and worsen snoring.
However, it doesn’t mean that you definitely have health issues if you snore. Snoring with a good sleep pattern and oxygen level, you have nothing to worry about.
Symptoms
Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue: Easily get tired during reading, meeting and driving. Difficulty concentrating or mood changes during the day.
Paused breathing during sleep: Episodes of paused breathing during sleep followed by abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking.
Morning headache: 10-30% of OSA patients have experienced morning headaches.
Awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat: Vibrations from the snoring itself may irritate the throat, and breathing through the mouth can dry out the throat.
Poor growth: Usually seen in children
People with sleep apnea snore during sleep, accompanied with the following conditions during sleep: breathing through mouth, frequent paused breathing, restless sleep, repeated episodes of awakening, angina, arrhythmia and nocturia.
They still feel tired and crave for sleep after waking up, and have conditions such as elevated blood pressure and headache. If the condition continues, snoring can increase risk of cardiovascular health conditions, memory lapses, slower speed on cognitive skills and depression on elderly.
Affected people
1. Postmenopausal women
Oestrogen and progesterone levels decrease on postmenopausal women, which lead to snoring and high chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea.
2. People who tend to sleep on their backs
When we are sleeping on our backs, the relaxed tongue will sag and narrow the upper airway which causes snoring.
3. People who tend to breath through their mouths
People with rhinitis breathe through their mouths during their sleep. The congestion at their nasal passage reduces the amount of air flowing through the passage, which can lead to snoring.
4. Obesity
Study has shown that having a BMI higher than 28 is one of the main factors of developing OSA.
It is probably the result of excessive fat deposition on the neck. Laying down causes the extra pressure against the upper air passage, leading to collapse of the airway and snoring.
5. People who drink and smoke
Drinking alcohol can cause constructions in the upper part of the airways while smoking can cause inflammation in the upper air passage.
Also, genetics, enlarged tongue, sedative and hypnotic medications such as muscle relaxants, or endocrine diseases such as hypothyroid have been associated with the occurrence of snoring.
Treatment
It is important to note that more evidence has shown that OSA is related to many cardiovascular complications, including high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, coronary artery disease, stroke, pulmonary hypertension. Severe OSA has been associated with cardiovascular mortality. Therefore, people with severe snoring need to attend medical visits.
A. Laser Snoring Treatment
Snoring:
Laser snoring treatment at Ai Beauty is a non-invasive and pain-free laser treatment that can effectively improve snoring and sleep quality. During the treatment, lasers will be used to heat up the tissue around the tongue and contract the collagen protein in the oral mucosa tissue, which can greatly reduce sleep apnea and snoring noise. The laser can also tighten soft tissue at the throat which will keep the airway open.
Principle:
Er:YAG laser is a mild laser that gently changes the structure of soft tissue so as to improve the snoring and sleep quality. Laser energy penetrates into oral tissue, stimulates the contraction of collagen in the oral mucosal tissue, and tightens soft tissue at the throat, providing a better support to the uvula and airway which means a more open airway. The treatment results in a more open airway that allows more air coming through, effectively reduces snoring and sleep apnea and improves sleep quality.
Procedure:
1. Consultation: Understand and evaluate patient’s snoring condition and expectation
2. Treatment preparation: Clean and disinfect treatment area. USe laser light to warm up tissue
3. Laser treatment: Apply laser light to tighten or contract tissue.
4. Post-treatment care.
Duration: 1 hr
Who is it for:
- People who suffer from snoring;
- People who want to improve snoring but do not want surgery;
Ai Beauty Laser Snoring Treatment:
A non-surgical and non-vaporisation laser treatment to easily reduce snoring. Help to bring back a good sleep without wearing anti-snoring devices.
Read More Reduce snoring, come to Ai Beauty Clinic,
for safe and professional medical treatment.
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