Snoring is not only annoying for the people who share a bedroom with you, but can also point towards a health problem. When sleep is interrupted, we do not rest enough, and our body cannot “recharge” properly. ENT doctor Simona Bâtlan, who offers consultations on the Digital Clinics platform, tells us when they are dangerous, why they occur and how to treat snoring and sleep apnea.
Sleep induces a state of rest and recovery in the human body. It represents a cyclical passage through two phases: REM sleep and non-REM sleep. Each person requires a certain number of hours of sleep, depending on age. Once the person closes their eyes, the person goes through a series of physical phenomena: elimination of toxins, sudden movements, but also psychic ones: dreams, premonitions. These are most often completed or interrupted by various conditions: sleep apnea, deviated nasal septum, snoring (rhonchopathy).
Apnea is a relatively common condition in the population, in which the patient stops breathing periodically during sleep. Treatment for sleep apnea consists of medication, surgery, and the use of special devices.
Snoring or rhonchopathy, the most common condition during sleep, is the noise made by the vibration of the tissues in the throat during breathing. Sometimes, snoring can indicate the existence of a serious illness, other times it is just annoying for the person you sleep with. Statistics show that approximately 50% of adults snore occasionally.
If snoring occurs most nights (habitual snoring) during a month, then it is necessary to pay attention to it and have a specialist consultation (ENT). Treatment for snoring is based on certain changes in habits, from certain medications, sprays, strips and prostheses to surgical interventions (treatment of polyps, tonsils, etc.).
