I have been treating snoring and sleep apnea patients for more than three decades. The question-who snore more, male or female? In general men do snore more. But the trend is changing.
I have seen both partners blaming each other and who snore more as a debate. Wife says husband snores loud and he says she also snores.
I must admit the women in the reproductive age are better off in this respect thanks to the estrogen hormones which is protecting the airway preventing collapse. But not always the case, if the young women folks are obese and suffer from systemic diseases like hypothyroid or diabetes, the story is different.
Once the women folks pass the age of menopause, the situations change. Then they do snore as “good” as men. This is because the shift in hormone level and increase in fat deposit in the neck. The neck obesity is more the reason for snoring and sleep apnea in women than fat deposit in abdomen and thighs. The increase in collar size (normal 13-14 in women) is early bad indicator along with BMI index more than 25.If BMI is more than 30, its real bad news.
The reason for snoring and sleep apnea in women is due to narrow airway passage of nose and throat. There may be anatomical abnormalities, hereditary factors and decrease in the size and shape of the pharyngeal airway due to fat deposition in the pharyngeal wall and musculature. Once there is fat accumulation in these areas, the tone of the dilator muscles of the pharynx weakens and these patients tend to snore or even stop breathing due to airway collapse (OSA).
There is a direct relationship between snoring and obesity and vice vers.Those who snore and having sleep apnea suffer from day time sleepiness, they lack mood, feel depressed, and lethargic, not feeling well to go for work out, and keep on eating without burning any calories. Newly found hormones like Leptins, Ghrelins, Orexin- neuropeptides produced by fat act at the hypothalamus area of brain increases the appetite; these hormones levels are high in snoring women.
There are problems affecting their sex life too as there is decreased libido and depression which ends up in separate bed room and final divorce.
So are you one of those women who suffer from snoring and sleep apnea, get help.
Stop Snoring and Save your marriage.
(Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. Associated features include loud snoring, fragmented sleep, hypoxemia and hypercapnia, daytime sleepiness, memory loss, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications like high BP, coronary artery diseases).
