* Forwarded (from: APNEA) by Ardith Hinton using timEd/386 1.10.y2k+.
   * Originally from Paul Casey (1:343/117) to All.
   * Original dated: Sat Sep 14, 01:06

   The American Medical Association Straight-talk, No-nonsense
   guide to Better Sleep, Based on the Latest Medical Research.

           Title Document "The Snoring Sickness"

   Side NOTE: "Not All Snorers Have APNEA And Not All APNEA
               Sufferers Snore"

   Attempts to muzzle snorers have spawned a panoply of gadgets.
   Nose clips, chin straps and a collar that jolts the neck with a
   mild electric shock at every raspy snort are among the more than
   three hundred antisnoring devices registered at the United
   States Patent Office.  Snoring inspires jokes.  It's portrayed
   as a nuisance more to those whose ears are assaulted than to the
   snorer.  But snoring is not trivial.  Indeed, the implications
   of this nighttime cacophony may be quite ominous.

   Snoring almost always indicates that something is wrong with
   breathing during sleep.  It makes sleep less restful and may
   also subtly undermine the quality of waking life by inducing
   constant sleepiness, difficulty with concentration, headaches
   and even impotence.  A particular pattern of raucously loud
   snoring heralds recurrent interruptions in breathing during
   sleep.  If prolonged, these pauses may lead to high blood
   pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

   The "snoring sickness" is not a new disease.  What is new is
   the link between numerous seemingly disparate ailments and
   disordered breathing during sleep.  Snoring does not cause
   all these troubles.  It is simply an easy-to-recognize early
   warning signal.

   Fortunately, once a breathing problem is recognized, it can
   often be treated successfully.  In both adults and children,
   symptoms can frequently be dramatically reversed.

   WHY DO WE SNORE?

   The sounds of snoring come from vibration of the soft palate and
   the uvula at the back of the throat.  The vibration is prompted
   by narrowing of the passage through which air moves as it comes
   through the nose and throat, into the lungs and out again.
   Narrowing sufficient to trigger snoring may come from a cold or
   allergy that causes temporary swelling of nasal passages, enlarged
   tonsils or abnormal closure of muscles of the upper airway
   during sleep.  The last problem is among the most worrisome,
   because there is no sign of it when a person is awake.

   Millions of people of all ages snore--perhaps thirty million
   people in the United States alone.  Fortunately, most of them
   snore lightly and intermittently.  Their air flow remains
   adequate.  They have no trouble obtaining the oxygen they need
   from incoming air to supply the body's organs and tissues or to
   get rid of the carbon dioxide that accumulates as a waste
   product of bodily activity.

   But an estimated one person in ten--two and one-half million
   Americans-- has seriously disturbed breathing during sleep.
   These people snore loudly enough to be heard in the next room
   and they often snore continuously. Their air flow is
   significantly reduced, so that less oxygen gets into their
   bloodstream and more carbon dioxide is retained.  Their snoring
   may be punctuated by silence if the movement of air stops
   altogether.

   At such times, their blood pressure may soar.  It usually
   returns to normal when breathing restarts, but when
   interruptions in breathing occur in rapid succession, periods
   of high blood pressure may be sustained.  After many years,
   and for reasons that still are not entirely clear, blood
   pressure may remain elevated even while these people are awake.
   Habitual snorers are twice as likely to have high blood
   pressure as nonsnorers.

   When the flow of air into the lungs is reduced or interrupted,
   the heart, brain and other organs are deprived of oxygen.  The
   heart does not pump efficiently.  It slows down and may beat
   irregularly, prematurely or with extra beats.  In severe cases,
   the heart pauses for several seconds.  Sometimes, it stops
   completely.



--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+