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SLEEP EASY!

Snoring can make life miserable for sufferers

We all look forward to a good night's sleep. But for snorers and their bed fellows, the night time can be a total nightmare. Inside Out takes to the beds of the north in search of a snoring remedy.

There's nothing better than waking up feeling refreshed and full of life after a good night's sleep.

But for the fifteen million snorers in the UK and their long-suffering partners, a night spent in bed can turn into their worst nightmare.

A snorer can be as loud as a Boeing 747 taking off at a massive 140 decibels. That's louder than a chainsaw, a vacuum cleaner or a lawnmower.

Snoring can also put huge strains on relationships as bed partners suffer hours of sleep disruption and irritability.

Inside Out takes a look at why we snore and asks what can be done to tackle the problem for the nation's 30 million sufferers.

Life's a snore

Nightime sleep monitoring is one way of identifying sleep problems

So why do we snore? Snoring is caused when we relax. As soon as we go to sleep, our nasal airways loosen up.

But for some people when they breathe during sleep, their airways get so narrow that their nasal passages vibrate from the vocal chords to the roof of the mouth.

The sound of snoring can be worsened by sleeping on your back, having a nasal obstruction, or being obese.

There are four types of snorers, and it's important to identify which type you are before finding the right treatment.

There's some basic home tests which you can do to identify which group you belong to...

• Mouth breathers - Open mouth and try to snore. Close mouth and try again. If you can't, you're a mouth breather
  
  
• Collapsed nostril snorers - Close mouth and one nostril and breathe. If it collapses, try again holding open with clean matchstick
  
  
• Tongue based snorers - Poke your tongue out as far as you can, and grip it with your teeth. Try to snore and see if you can make a noise. If the noise is reduced, you're probably this type
  
  
• Unhealthy lifestyle snorers - If your collar size is 16 and a half inches or more, you are at risk of snoring. An unhealthy lifestyle, obesity and excess body weight can also contribute

Sweet dreams

In addition to conventional snoring cures, there's also more bizarre remedies. Strychnine is known to work but is strongly to be avoided because it is poisonous!

Other remedies include a hi-tech watch that gives snorers a shock to raising the sufferer's head by putting extra pillows on the bed.

Some sufferers recommend nasal sprays and drops which can help to improve breathing and reduce nasal stuffiness.

Buying ear plugs for your partner is also a temporary solution but doesn't really tackle the problem at source!

Sleep deprivation

Peter Greenwell from Hartlepool suffers from sleep apnoea which also causes snoring.

Sleep apnoea (from the Greek meaning 'want of breath') is a condition where breathing temporarily stops during sleep.

It's a potentially fatal condition which can lead to increased risk of accidents and heart attacks.

Sufferers are unaware that they have only slept for a few short bursts during the night.

It's estimated that three in ten of the population have sleep apnoea.

Peter lost his job because of the condition which left him constantly tired during the day and snoring at night.

"I was irritable when I got up in the morning... I didn't really understand the extent of the problem.

"During the day the effect was that I couldn't stay awake for more than an hour, an hour and a half - it just deteriorated until I virtually became a vegetable.

"Literally I couldn't work. And I couldn't drive anywhere or do anything. I was completely unemployable."

Fortunately Peter had a good GP who sent him to Professor Dodds, a sleep expert, for tests.

Symptoms of sleep apnoea

Symptoms include excessively loud snoring, extreme daytime tiredness and morning headaches.

Wearing a mask in bed has transformed Peter Greenwell''s life

Peter Greenwell now wears a mask in bed each night which blows air at him.

Although it doesn't look glamorous, it's a lifesaver and wearing it doesn't bother Peter too much.

"Personally it's changed my life," he says.

His wife agrees, "He used to rattle the windows, but he also used to stop breathing which was frightening."

"He's a super guy again, the love of my life, like a new man. He was a demon. He was a horrible man to live with because he was tired."

Now he's the husband that she married 27 years ago again.

And so to bed..

Snoring is a common condition but it's increasingly easy to treat it with the help of your GP and wide range of products.

It's vital to identify what type of snorer you are, and to eliminate the possibility of a more serious condition like sleep apnoea.

Snoring can be a thing of the past

Sleep monitoring overnight by health professionals can also help to identify where the problem lies.

With a wide range of clinically proven products, snorers can find a way of eliminating their embarrassing habit for good.

There's also help at hand from the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association and the UK's various sleep centres.

As day fades to night, snorers need no longer fear the long, dark hours head.

And for their partners, the rattling sound of a snorting pig crossed with a roaring, vibrating wagon engine could be a thing of the past!