For women snoring can be embarrassing but can be tackled

If you thought snoring was an exclusive male problem, you are seriously wrong. Snoring is not a serious problem though definitely an embarrassing one for a woman. Studies reveal that not just women in their 50's, but also those in the 20's have reported to be habitual snorers.

If I have to be true to you this is one of the reasons I do not want to marry, I snore and it's uncontrollable and very severe and loud," says 33-year-old Veena Tripathy, weighing 72 kg.

Dr Sunaina Rawat, a sleep disorder specialist, explains snoring for the common person to understand, "Snoring is produced by vibrations of the soft tissues at the back of the node and throat. The noise is created by turbulent flow of air through narrowed air passages."

According to the specialist, "Snoring is not a risk to life but it can get serious when the same soft tissues block the air passages at the back of the throat interfering with the ability to breathe and it becomes risky as it happens while the person is sleeping and also affects the health then."

Why people snore

Obesity: Obese women snore and to an extent it is true. "If one gains weight considerably then snoring can be a side effect. The extra weight means extra fatty tissues and the fatty tissues obstruct the opening in the throat and leads to the 'high vibrations' which is snoring."

Heredity: Few know about this fact that ancestors can pass down this problem of snoring. Smaller throats can cause problems in breathing which leads to snoring. "It is fascinating but if we have a past family history of smaller throat opening, then mostly generations later tend to have smaller throats too," says Dr Sunaina.

Gender Bias: Studies reveal and also it is seen that snoring rate in men is always higher than women, this is because men have narrow airways in the body than women. "Yes, the biological body structure of men is the cause of louder and more snoring in them."

Age factor: The common belief that the older one gets, lesser the snoring is not true. "By age, some people develop snoring and some start snoring more that's because the throat muscle becomes smaller with age as the muscles around no longer remains toned. The weak throat muscles with smaller air passages lead to the snoring problems."

Alcoholics hangover snoring: Very few may be aware of the fact that too much of alcohol leads to snoring at night. "Alcohol actually relaxes the body muscles, which also includes the tongue and throat muscles, leading to higher chances of snoring," says the specialist.

Heavy medication: Heavy medication and sleeping pills leads to the problem of snoring. "Yes, sleeping pills help the person to sleep but the ones sleeping nearby lose sleep. Sleeping pills and other cough medicine relaxes the body muscles and can lead to snoring," says Dr Sunaina.

Blockage of the nasal passage: Blockage in the nasal passage or a cocked bone leads to snoring as well. "Crooked nose bone in medical language is the deviated septum, yes this can cause snoring. Such cases should be consulted with the doctor," suggests Dr Sunaina.

Back sleeping:  This comes from the grandmothers that sleeping on the back leads to snoring. "Yes, in early days grandmothers used to say that sleeping on the back is not ladylike and one should sleep on the sides but the truth is that it leads to snoring in most cases," agrees Dr Sunaina.

Soft pillows: "Partially correct that soft pillows leads to snoring, because again a little slant of the neck causes the air block and causes snoring."

Cold and blocked nose: A very common thing seen is usually when one has a bad cold or blocked nose then a person tends to snore. "Symptoms of cold with stuffy nose and clogged nasal passages make breathing difficult and causes snoring."

Successful tips to overcome snoring

Care at home: Initial self help at home should be tried to overcome the problem. Some snorers try to help themselves, their suggestions:

• Try not to sleep on the back: "I wear a pocket T-shirt backward with a tennis ball in the pocket. You will be less likely to sleep on your back because it is very uncomfortable to sleep on a tennis ball," says Rachna Sukhlani, PR executive, Lajpat Nagar.
• Losing weight: "This actually works wonders. Try at least 10 kg, only then there will be some differences," says Rajat Mihan Kaul, sweet shop owner, CR Park.
• Avoid alcohol: "If you cannot quit alcohol altogether then follow what I do. I do not consume late into the nights, I keep at least three to four hours gap between my alcohol consumption and sleep," shares Vivek Das, event manager, GK.