What Should I do if I Suspect a Problem?

It might seem difficult for you to find out on your own, whether you snore while sleeping. Most people do snore sporadically, and in that case, it should not be a cause for concern. The problem arises when there are daily episodes of loud and proficient snoring, while you are sleeping. This is because it is most likely to be a result of a sleeping disorder - obstructive sleep apnea.Many patients fail to describe their sleep related symptoms to doctors making diagnosis difficult

However, come to think of it - there are more than one way to find whether you snore or not, and if you are also at a risk of having sleep apnea:

1. Ask your Bed Partner: Discussing about your suspected snoring with your bed partner will help you assess the situation better. Your snoring pattern is easily audible to the person next to you, and on many occasions, this might be the reason to keep them awake at night. Therefore, it is always good to ask them for their comments and it is the easiest way to know if you have a snoring problem.

2. Record it for Proof: This technique will work for those usually sleep alone, and don’t have anyone to tell them whether they snore. You can setup an audio or even a video (as per your convenience) - on your smartphones, mobile devices, recorders, etc., to record your sleep routine. You can listen to the recorded tape the next day, to find out whether you have a snoring problem.

3. Apps to Track Sleep: The above two methods may not provide you with all the details for your snoring, such as its severity level. To eliminate this drawback, many Android or iPhone apps are available on mobile app stores, which will let you know in detail about the gravity of the issue. The app has a recorder that archives the snoring pattern and displays the results on a digital severity meter.

What Should I do if I Suspect a Problem?

Take a sleep test at home

There are home sleep tests available, that allow you to conduct the test in your bed, without any intervention. The one sleep test offered by ResMed is a low touch diagnostic tool which is a simple & smart way to check your sleep quality.

Maintain Your Personal Sleep Log

You can also look to create a sleep log for yourself. Your personal sleep log can have categories like, sleep time, wake-up time, mood after sleep, etc. Once you fill in these details on a regular basis, it will give you a better understanding of your sleep routine, based on data collected over a period of several weeks. Sleep logs are commonly used by caregivers to diagnose sleep disorders.

Snoring affects your daytime routine too. Knowing these can also give you insights on snoring patterns. These include daytime dizziness, headaches in the morning, lethargy, and irritability. All these are results of bad sleep due and snoring. If you experience any of these indications quite often, it can be a cause for alarm for you.

All these tips work well in moderating your sleep schedule to keep your physical and mental health in the good form. Sleep good, stay good.

Seek Professional Help

Administering these techniques can make the situation clear to you, but identification is just the beginning, and the real work begins once you start attending the problem. You can always seek professional help from a doctor, for proper treatment of the problem. There are several self-help treatment options for sleep apnea. However, seeking professional advice is always recommended, to better address your snoring problem.

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Sleep Revitalizes your Mind, Body, & Heart

The body goes under many transformations, while it is in the state of rest during sleep. There are many essential functions that take place in the body such as tissue repair, memory and energy restoration, release of essential hormones, muscle relaxation, and others. While you are asleep, the brain releases indispensable hormones that promote tissue growth. This process helps your body rejuvenate from the daily hustle bustle. Moreover, tissue growth aids in the recovery from wounds or cuts. Sunita Kumar, Co-Director, Centre for Sleep Disorders, Loyola University Medical Centre, aptly remarks that during sleep the body produces more white blood cells, to fight countless bacteria and viruses¹. The heart rate also registers a dip during sleep, which according to Ms. Kumar, strengthens the heart as it is at rest with lowered activity. Moreover, a good night’s sleep also reduces the chances of getting afflicted with heart diseases.

Good Sleep = Sharp Memory

Sleep is a time, when becomes sharp and strong. Sleep quantity and quality play a fundamental role in determining what one remembers and what one doesnt. Therefore, development of long-term memory (LTM) from short-term memory (STM) happens during sleep. Scientific researches state that the brain follows a different mechanism for storing memories through the hippocampus and neo-cortex areas. Hippocampus helps you to remember your life experiences (childhood memories), while the neo-cortex is responsible for remembering the concepts you learn (name of a color). Communications and sync between the two, helps in learning new data and updating old ones.

Sleep Steers Hormonal Hunger

Sleep not only affects your energy levels and mental functions, but also regulates your body weight. Improper sleep is related to the increasing cases of obesity, worldwide². Many hormones which regulate the feeling of hunger (ghrelin) and signal the feeling of being full (leptin), are all influenced by the quality of your sleep. Leptin: This is also known as satiety hormone, which is produced by the fat cells of the body. It prevents overeating by sending signals to the brain that the body does not require more food, as there is enough to fuel the body. Ghrelin: This hunger hormone is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, which signifies the body that there is need for food. This hormone rises in the body, when you feel hungry and decreases when you have consumed some food. Studies show that people who have disrupted patterns of sleep - have larger appetite, because of higher ghrelin secretion and lowered secretion of leptin. This imbalance in the secretion of these hormones is a result of improper sleep patterns³.

Now that we have talked about why sleep is essential, in the next section - we will be discussing in detail some of the significant parameters, that define good or bad sleep.