There are effective remedies for the nightly explosive sound and harrumphing
BY NISSAR H GILANI
One of my relatives, who had gone to attend a marriage ceremony in New Delhi, refused to share a room with another invitee on the pretext that he was a bad snorer, and last night’s experience with him was unspeakably horrifying. Not only was he unable to sleep a wink during the night but he got frightened too. With the result, my relative had to pass his night on a footpath. He hurriedly stated that the guest snorer needed immediate medical attention or a visit to some pir.
There are two myths about snoring:
There is not a darn thing you can do about it, if one is a snorer.
Snoring is just noise, either laughable or bothersome.
Science and medicine have given the lie to both of these.
There are effective remedies for the nightly explosive sound and harrumphing. In some cases snorers may be able to use self-care methods to end the noise for good within a week, or in other cases, within a few months.
And we know, not all snoring is just benign rattling.
Why Snoring
About 45 percent of all adults are believed to snore occasionally, 25 percent are habitual snorers, of that vast majority is men. (Ladies, please cheer up). What causes all the noise? Experts say that obstruction in the airway, usually, the tongue. Most often when a snorer relaxes during sleep, his tongue falls backward against the soft plate. When he breathes, the stream of air that enter his throat causes the tongue and tissue to vibrate against one another. And the farther his tongue drops back, the more snoring occurs.
This malady is called sleep apnea.
Cause: Unknown though, some experts suspect that apnea victims have narrower airways than other snorers. In any case, doctors take the disorder very seriously for many reasons. For one, every year doctors suspect that a few thousand people die in their sleep apnea. The deaths are usually caused by suffocation. Doctors believe that sleep apnea is an emergency. Many apnea snorers deny that their breathing stops every night. Sleep experts say that spouses might have to record on tape the whole frightening apnea cycle to convince “denial snorers” that the problem is real.
Avoid Snoring
Avoid tranquillizers
Avoid sleeping pills
Lose weight. As snorers are notorious for being overweight.
Elevate your head, while sleeping.
Consult the doctors not the quacks.
Coming back to my annoyed relative and the snorer guest at New Delhi, the host had to separate both of them much to his embarrassment, with apologies to both.
The writer is former Assistant Commission Revenue Department J&K Government, can be reached at nisargilani57748@gmail.com
