Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : February 3, 2016 4:30 PM IST
Snoring can make erection difficult: There are studies that suggest snoring in men, especially elderly men lead to less sexual interest in them [1]. This could also mean lack of proper erection, low libido or other factors that make intercourse challenging.
If you snore, it is your partner who is affected the most. But remember you are more at risk because of this condition even if you think you are sleeping at peace, snoring is a warning sign that indicates you suffer from a host of problems and complications. In fact, it can make some of the existing ones even worse. Here are few of the health issues that snoring can either aggravate or put you at risk to.
1. Hypertension: Snoring is a warning sign for underlying cardiovascular conditions. When you snore, your breathing stops abruptly, and that makes your blood pressure shoot up. The oxygen levels drop and the brain signals the blood vessels to tighten up, increasing the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain to keep you alive. In the bargain, your pressure that rises during night, stays elevated even the following day. A 10-year follow-up study published in The European Respiratory Journal stated that snoring is an independent risk factor for hypertension among men aged less than 50 years [1]. Here are five ways in which high BP can ruin your health.
2. Diabetes: Snoring is one of the lifestyle causes that lead to type II diabetes. Women are especially vulnerable to this. When your body struggles for oxygen, it goes into a flight or fight mode that increases stress. This, in turn, raises your blood glucose level and leads to type II diabetes in future. A 10-year follow-up study done on 1,957 women showed that snoring constitutes to be a risk factor for type II diabetes even after taking into consideration the BMI, smoking history and parental history of diabetes [2]. Here are eight things every diabetic should do to live a healthy life.
3. Obesity: No, snoring will not make you obese. But if you are obese and you snore, it can be hazardous. For instance, obesity itself is a risk factor for diabetes. If you add snoring to the list, it just increases your chances of becoming a diabetic in less than ten years. The risk is more for people who fall between 30 and 69 years of age[3]. Here are 16 reasons why obesity is ugly.
4. Stroke: While many studies suggest that snoring alone can increase one s risk of stroke, a study published in 2003 in Journal of Sleep Research, suggested that it is daytime sleepiness that significantly raised one s chances of getting a stroke. While there could be many reasons behind daytime sleepiness, obstructive sleep apnoea could be one of the reasons, and snoring is a symptom of the same [4]. Did you know, you can suffer from stroke even without knowing it?
5. Depression: Disturbed sleep at night definitely has an effect on your mental health. So it isn t shocking to learn that snoring or sleep apnoea could also give rise to symptoms of depression. In fact, when a closed study was done to detect the effects of snoring on mental health it was learnt that most people who snore (like around 30 to 50 percent) of them were already on prescribed medications for depression [5]. Here are 13 reasons to take your stress more seriously.
6. Low libido: Snoring doesn't only put off your partner at night, it also make you a bad performer in bed. A study done on 827 men showed that men who snored the loudest were least able to satisfy their partners in bed [6]. Here are seven sure-fire tips to get your libido racing.
7. Headaches: While you keep your partner awake all night due to your loud snores remember this can backfire in the morning with a mild nagging headache which can spoil your entire day. It is common in habitual snorers to suffer from morning headaches. However, they are even prone to migraines, insomnia and psychological distress [7]. Here is why you should not keep ignoring your headaches.
8. GERD: Yes, you can suffer from acid reflux if you are a habitual snorer. In fact, if you are on treatment for snoring you're are 14 times more likely to suffer from acid reflux as compared to people who don t snore [8]. Know if it is safe to take antacids every day.
9. Cancer: This part sounds scary, but is true. Oxygen deprivation is one factor that gives a platform for cancer cells to grow within your body. It is believed that low oxygen in the blood triggers development of more blood vessels to compensate for a lack of oxygen reaching the tissues and cells. This is probably one reason that could lead to the growth of a tumour. Also, low oxygen is an ideal environment for cancer cells to grow rapidly [9]. Here are nine healthy habits that can help you reduce risk of cancer.
Reference:
[1] 1: Lindberg E, Janson C, Gislason T, Sv rdsudd K, Hetta J, Boman G. Snoring and hypertension: a 10 year follow-up. Eur Respir J. 1998 Apr;11(4):884-9. PubMed PMID: 9623692.
[2] 1: Al-Delaimy WK, Manson JE, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Snoring as a risk factor for type II diabetes mellitus: a prospective study. Am J Epidemiol. 2002 Mar 1;155(5):387-93. PubMed PMID: 11867347.
[3] 1: Elmasry A, Janson C, Lindberg E, Gislason T, Tageldin MA, Boman G. The role of habitual snoring and obesity in the development of diabetes: a 10-year follow-up study in a male population. J Intern Med. 2000 Jul;248(1):13-20. PubMed PMID:10947876.
[4] 1: Davies DP, Rodgers H, Walshaw D, James OF, Gibson GJ. Snoring, daytime sleepiness and stroke: a case-control study of first-ever stroke. J Sleep Res.2003 Dec;12(4):313-8. Review. PubMed PMID: 14633243.
[5] 1: Douglas N, Young A, Roebuck T, Ho S, Miller BR, Kee K, Dabscheck EJ, Naughton MT. Prevalence of depression in patients referred with snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea. Intern Med J. 2013 Jun;43(6):630-4. doi: 10.1111/imj.12108. PubMed PMID: 23461358.
[6] Hanak, V., Jacobson, D. J., McGree, M. E., Sauver, J. S., Lieber, M. M., Olson, E. J., ... & Jacobsen, S. J. (2008). Snoring as a risk factor for sexual dysfunction in community men. The journal of sexual medicine, 5(4), 898-908.
[7] 1: Chen PK, Fuh JL, Lane HY, Chiu PY, Tien HC, Wang SJ. Morning headache in habitual snorers: frequency, characteristics, predictors and impacts.Cephalalgia. 2011 May;31(7):829-36. doi: 10.1177/0333102411403635. PubMed PMID:21602422.
[8] 1: Charaklias N, Mamais C, Pothula V, Kumar BN. Laryngopharyngeal reflux and primary snoring: a pilot case-control study. B-ENT. 2013;9(2):89-93. PubMed PMID:23909114.
[9] 1: Nieto FJ, Peppard PE, Young T, Finn L, Hla KM, Farr R. Sleep-disordered breathing and cancer mortality: results from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. AmJ Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 Jul 15;186(2):190-4. doi:10.1164/rccm.201201-0130OC. Epub 2012 May 20. PubMed PMID: 22610391; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3406081.
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