It is well understood that loud and frequent snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) which poses significant health risks and can impair energy level, mood and overall daytime function. What is often ignored by sleep medicine when talking about snoring is how it affects the bed partner of the snorer. In the absence of OSA, someone who is snoring every night will likely be completely unaffected by their snoring, until their frustrated and sleep deprived bed partner kicks them in the night to roll onto their side.
The noise from snoring can interrupt the sleep cycle of a bed partner which can affect their health in four main ways:
- Fatigue/Tiredness: Fragmented and poor-quality sleep caused by a partner snoring can result in daytime sleepiness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. This can be especially dangerous if it causes tiredness while driving.
- Relationship Tension: Consistent sleep disruption can lead to increased stress and anxiety levels. If the cause of being woken up frequently is the person sharing your bed, this can also contribute to significant relationship tensions.
- Physical Health Problems: Chronic sleep deprivation by any means increases the risk of various health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity.
- Mental Health: Lack of proper rest can affect mood and cognitive functions, potentially leading to depression and memory issues over time.
Any level of snoring is a risk factor for OSA and a sleep study should be considered if the snoring is loud, there are repeated episodes of snoring interspersed with periods of silence or the snorer also experiences significant tiredness or other symptoms of sleep apnoea such as poor concentration, reduced memory, morning headaches, irritability or excessive nighttime urination.
Consistent snoring without significant levels of OSA will only be a problem for the bed partner or sometimes people in other rooms of the house. Sometimes the easiest solution could be the humble earplug for the bed partner of the snorer, otherwise there are a multitude of treatments to address the snoring itself, for example losing weight, sleeping on side, sleeping with your upper body elevated, practising oropharyngeal exercises or sleeping with a device such as a MAS mouthguard or nasal device.