Headlines

As reported by WTNH Channel 8, May 3, 2007.

Snoring: Sleepless Nights or Health Problem?

By Jocelyn Maminta

Wallingford - It can be so loud and disruptive that an elbow or a push does nothing to tone things down. The problem is snoring, and it can get so frustrating sometimes couples end up in separate bedrooms.

It is not just men who snore women snore as well. Some though not as loud as others and snoring can mean more trouble than a sleepless night.

"When Bill snores you can hear him all the way in the garage as if he were sleeping in the garage," said Walanne Jenkins.

Walanne was so frustrated with her husband Bill's snoring that she had to move out of their bedroom.

"Most of the nights when I couldn't sleep I'd come down here and sleep on the couch," said Walanne. "Its frustrating because you'd like to sleep in the same bed but its hard to because the other person is continuously snoring."

Snoring affects people's lives inside the bedroom and out.

"I couldn't concentrate at work, couldn't focus as much as I wanted to at work, just couldn't do what I wanted to do during the day," said Bill.

It turned out bill's snoring was just a red flag for a much more serious problem. Dr. Meir Kryger is the director of Sleep Medicine Research at Gaylord Hospital where Bill was eventually diagnosed with sleep apnea.

"The main symptoms of sleep apnea that we see in a clinic in an adult is excessive daytime sleepiness," said Kryger.

The condition could also be deadly.

"We know that sleep apnea is a very powerful risk factor for the development of high blood pressure and high blood pressure leads to a cascade of other problems including heart disease and stroke," said Kryger.

Dr. Dan McNally, director of the UConn Sleep Disorders Center, said when people have sleep apnea, their bodies literally wake themselves up at night.

"Their body gets stressed and their brain literally wakes them up, says you're going to die, breathe, you're not breathing, wake up," said McNally.

McNally said treatment for a good night sleep is wearing a device called the CPAP.

"CPAP is a process where you put air under a little pressure into the nose," said McNally. "It follows a natural path of the air to get warmed and humidified and head into our throats and then into our lungs."

Now sleepless snoring nights are over for Bill and Walanne.

"I feel so much more energized myself because I am able to go to sleep, stay asleep and we can actually enjoy time together," said Bill.

McNally and Kryger said people can have a snoring problem without having sleep apnea. To minimize snoring, you can do a number of things such as avoiding alcohol, losing weight and sleeping on your side.